Page 8 - aruba-today-20170422
P. 8
A8 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 22 april 2017
Champs-Elysees gunman had long criminal record, praised IS
ELAINE GANLEY the Islamic State group
LORI HINNANT were the only signs that
Associated Press he had entered the world
PARIS (AP) — The gunman of Islamic extremists, Mo-
who shot and killed a po- lins said. Scraps of paper
lice officer on the famed scrawled with the address-
Champs-Elysees just days es of police stations and a
before the French presi- satchel of weapons, muni-
dential vote spent 14 years tions and the Muslim holy
in prison, including for at- book were discovered in
tacking other officers, his car. Thursday’s shoot-
Frances’s anti-terrorism ings followed the arrest this
prosecutor said Friday — week of two men in Mar-
a lengthy criminal history seille on suspicion of plot-
that gave a jolt to an al- ting an attack around Sun-
ready nail-biting election day’s hotly contested first-
and fueled growing secu- round presidential vote,
rity concerns. Yet, despite fueling France’s worst fear:
an arrest as recently as a terrorist attack as crowds
February, the 39-year-old gather at polling stations
assailant, Karim Cheurfi, across the nation.
had shown no signs of radi- Polls suggest a tight race
calization, Paris Prosecutor among the four top con-
Francois Molins said, and French President Francois Hollande speaks with policemen at Paris police headquarters the day tenders, with far-right na-
after a policeman was killed and two others were wounded in a shooting incident on the Champs
was released for lack of Elysees boulevard, Friday April 21, 2017 in Paris. tionalist Marine Le Pen
evidence of a threat. (Philippe Wojazer, Pool Photo via AP) — who rails at France’s
That all changed Thursday Socialist government for
when Cheurfi, a French- lined boulevard synony- ers before being shot and of the attack, which ap- being lax on crime — and
man born in the Paris sub- mous with French glamour, killed by police. parently fell from the gun- Emmanuel Macron, an in-
urbs, opened fire with a striking a police officer with Security forces found a man’s pocket. That, along dependent centrist and
Kalashnikov assault rifle on two bullets to the head note praising the Islamic with an unusually quick former economy minister,
the crowded boutique- and wounding two oth- State group at the scene claim of responsibility by in the lead.q
Germany says suspect bet against
Dortmund then bombed their bus
FRANK JORDANS on the stock exchange, on
Associated Press the same day as the April
BERLIN (AP) — A 28-year- 11 attack.
old German-Russian citizen W. had taken out a loan of
took out a five-figure loan “several tens of thousands
to bet that Borussia Dort- of euros” days before the
mund shares would drop, attack and bought a large
then bombed the soccer number of so-called put
team’s bus in an attack he options, betting on a drop
tried to disguise as Islamic in Dortmund’s share price,
terrorism in a scheme to net she said.
millions, German officials “A significant share price
said Friday. drop could have been
The suspect, identified only expected if a player had
as Sergej W. in line with been seriously injured or
German privacy laws, was even killed as a result of the
arrested by a police tacti- attack,” according to pros-
cal team early Friday near ecutors, though Koehler
the southwestern city of said the precise profit W.
Tuebingen, federal pros- might have expected was
ecutors said. still being calculated.
“We are working on the “The man appears to have
assumption that the sus- wanted to commit murder
pect is responsible for the out of greed,” Jaeger said.
attack against the team Investigators found notes
bus of Borussia Dortmund,” at the scene claiming re-
prosecutors’ spokeswoman sponsibility on behalf of
Frauke Koehler told a news Islamic extremists, which
conference Friday. Germany’s top security of-
She said the man came to ficial, Interior Minister Thom-
the attention of investiga- as de Maiziere, said was a
tors because he had made “particularly perfidious way
“suspicious options pur- to toy with people’s fears.”
chases” for shares in Borus-
sia Dortmund, the only top- Continued on page 27
league German club listed
