Fire in front of the synagogue in La Grande-Motte: what we know about the profile of the suspect and the circumstances of his arrest

This Saturday, August 24, 2024, a thirty-year-old suspected of being behind the anti-Semitic attack on the Beth Yaacov synagogue in La Grande-Motte was arrested in the Pissevin district of Nîmes.

His escape lasted 15 hours. Around 11:30 p.m. this Saturday, the main suspect in the fire in front of the synagogue in La Grande-Motte was arrested in Nîmes, in the Pissevin district. 

According to our information, he had kept his mobile phone on him, which allowed the BRI 13, the BRI 34 and the Raid 13 to locate him. 

Before the police intervened, the suspect fired on the intervention column, the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office said in a statement. The latter returned fire and the man was injured in the face. He was also reportedly hit in the arm. His life is not in danger. 

He is said to have acted alone

According to our colleagues at BFMTV, this man is a thirty-year-old of Algerian nationality. Having arrived in France about ten years ago, he lived in La Grande-Motte and Nîmes. He is legally resident and has had a child since arriving in the south of the country. He is reportedly known to the police for drug use, but is not known to the intelligence services.

As a reminder, the suspect acted with his face uncovered. His actions were captured by video surveillance cameras. At the time of the incident, he was wearing a Palestinian flag on his belt, from which what appeared to be the butt of a handgun protruded. He had a red keffiyeh on his head and was holding a plastic water bottle filled with a yellowish liquid in each hand.

While two people from his entourage were also arrested, the suspect is believed to have acted alone and set fire to his own car, specifies BFMTV.