A man fled this Sunday, February 20 after shouting “Allah akbar” at the entrance to the Saint-Gervais basilica in Avranches, in the South of the Channel. The facts happened around 10:50 a.m. The man aged between 25 and 30 was unarmed and there was no “panic effect” in the building, where between 200 and 300 people were celebrating Sunday mass. About twenty gendarmes were mobilized to find him in an area around the town. They were only about ten at the end of the day, without success at 6:00 p.m., specifies the gendarmerie.
An investigation opened by the Coutances Public Prosecutor’s Office
The individual would be of the “Caucasian” type. Witnesses provided law enforcement with some details about his attire. “Everyone stayed calm. _We take interest in this kind of event with the current context and the trial on the assassination of Father Hamel_which is currently taking place in Paris”, specifies Guy Regnault, the commander of the Avranches company.
Churches were closed for the day. A judicial inquiry has been opened by the Coutances prosecutor’s office.