Three people were stabbed at a school in northeastern France on Oct. 13, the “Day of Jihad” that was called for by radical militant Islamists who want global violence to show support for Hamas.
The attack happened at Gambetta High School in the town of Arras, which has large Jewish and Muslim populations. One individual died, while two others were severely injured.
Police say the teacher who was killed was stabbed in the throat and the chest. The two injured individuals include the deputy headmaster and another teacher.
The 20-year-old attacker, Mohammed Mogushkov, is a migrant from the predominantly Muslim region of Chechnya, yelled “Allahu Akbar!” while carrying out the attack, police said.
Earlier this week, France banned pro-Palestinian and pro-Hamas demonstrations. Gérald Darmanin, France’s Interior Minister, says that foreigners found guilty of antisemitic offenses would have their residency permits withdrawn and would be immediately deported.
A philosophy teacher who saw the knife attack recounted the moment during break-time when students encountered the armed man.
“He attacked canteen staff. I wanted to go down to intervene, he turned to me, chased me and asked me if I was a history and geography teacher,” Martin Dousseau told France 24. “We barricaded ourselves in, then the police arrived and immobilized him.”
Police immediately opened a terror investigation into the attack. Several family members of the attacker were arrested as part of that investigation.
Hamas, a militant Islamic organization classified as a terrorist group by multiple nations, called for a “day of Jihad,” or holy war, on Friday Oct. 13.
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) quoted Hamas as saying:
We declare next Friday, ‘The Friday of the Al-Aqsa Flood,’ as a day of general mobilization in our Arab and Islamic world and among the free people of the world. It is a day to rally support, offer aid, and participate actively. It is a day to expose the crimes of the occupation, isolate it, and foil all its aggressive schemes. It is a day to demonstrate our love for Palestine, Jerusalem, and Al-Aqsa. It is a day for sacrifice, heroism, and dedication, and to earn the honor of defending the first Qibla of Muslims, the third holiest mosque, and the ascension of the trusted Messenger.
We call upon the free people of the world to mobilize in solidarity with our Palestinian people and in support of their just cause and legitimate rights to freedom, independence, return, and self-determination.
