Arras shaken by horrifying incident: teacher slain by young Chechen

In a shocking incident at an Arras high school in France, a teacher met a tragic fate as he was brutally stabbed to death by an individual. The assailant forcibly entered the premises while shouting “Allah Akbar”.

The assailant, a twenty-year-old of Chechen descent, was swiftly apprehended.

This horrific assault led to multiple casualties, with two individuals in critical condition, a fact confirmed by the prefect. The Minister of the Interior, Gerald Darmanin, has disclosed that a police operation is currently underway at the Gambetta high school in Arras. This is where the assailant carried out his violent act.

The Perpetrator

The attacker has been identified as Mohamed Mogouchkov, a young Chechen born in 2003 in the Russian Federation. Security forces had previously flagged him with the designation ‘fiché S,’ which reserved for individuals suspected of having links to Islamic extremism. Reports indicate that the young man had attended the very Gambetta high school where this tragic incident occurred. In recent months, French security authorities had expressed growing concerns about the radicalization of young individuals from the North Caucasus.

A video depicting the assault at the Arras school began to circulate rapidly on social media. Captured by students from the school’s windows, the footage reveals the assailant armed with a knife attacking people in the schoolyard. In the video, one can observe the young man, dressed in a gray jacket, advancing with determination, while some attempt to impede his progress using a chair. Additionally, an individual is seen falling to the ground, identified as the vice principal by a student’s voice in the video. The assailant struck the man on the ground before moving on to other victims.

In response to this tragic situation, the French national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation. Charges including “murder in connection with a terrorist organization, attempted murder, and terrorist association” have been filed.

The Attack Shakes Arras. Macron’s Visit to Arras

French President Emmanuel Macron is en route to Arras, located in the picturesque Pas de Calais region, where this harrowing attack unfolded. He is accompanied by Education Minister Gabriel Attal. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin will also be in attendance.

A Disturbing Precedent

Today’s attack at the Arras high school is not the first instance of violence in France involving individuals of Chechen origin. On October 16, 2020, someone tragically took the life of Samuel Paty. He was beheaded in front of his school, located in a Paris suburb. This horrific act occurred following a classroom discussion on the topic of freedom of expression. Paty had displayed caricatures of the prophet Muhammad.

The police subsequently killed the perpetrator, an 18-year-old Chechen refugee named Abdoullakh Anzorov. Subsequent investigations revealed that the young man had become radicalized. And a document claiming responsibility for the murder was discovered on his phone. This document also contained a photograph of the teacher Samuel Paty. He had been the subject of a defamatory campaign on social media in the days leading up to the attack.