The suspect was taken into custody and charged

The man who attempted to set fire to the town hall of Angoulême (Charente) on Wednesday August 21 was taken into police custody and charged, according to a press release from the Angoulême public prosecutor on Tuesday September 3.

The man, seriously injured by gunshots from municipal police officers and hospitalized after having spread gasoline inside the city hall, has been charged “counts of attempted homicide of persons carrying out a public service mission, attempted homicide of persons in positions of public authority and destruction by dangerous means”announced the prosecutor, Stéphanie Aouine, in a press release.

The suspect could not be questioned earlier “due to his medical situation and the mental health problems noted by doctors”but “after several days of medical and psychiatric care”, “his hearing was deemed possible”explains the prosecutor. He was taken into custody in hospital and questioned on Monday, but is “remained evasive about his motives, indicating nevertheless that he was targeting the property, in this case the town hall premises, and not the people who were there, and that he had not acted for religious reasons”The prosecution also requested that the suspect be placed in pre-trial detention, “the deliberation (..) is in progress”according to the press release.