An armed man believed to have set a synagogue on fire was shot dead by police in northwestern France on Friday.
Police officers in Rouen responded early Friday morning to an alarm about smoke coming from a synagogue in the city, according to the Associated Press. Upon arriving at the building, they came into contact with an unidentified man armed with a knife and a metal bar.
The National Police Intelligence Service said the man was leaving the synagogue when he lunged at officers with a weapon. He was then shot dead by one of the police officers.
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A man armed with a knife and a metal rod was shot and killed in northwestern France on Friday after charging at police as they were leaving a synagogue in Rouen, and authorities believe he set himself on fire. (Lou Benoist/AFP via Getty Images)
Rouen Mayor Nicolas Meyer-Rossignol told local reporters that the man climbed into the synagogue and threw “something like a Molotov cocktail” into the main prayer room, starting a fire and causing “significant damage.” Ta. No one was injured in the incident.
“When the Jewish community is attacked, it’s an attack on the national community, it’s an attack on France, it’s an attack on the whole French people,” he said, adding: “It’s a fear for the whole nation.” .
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Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin thanked police for their response to the act and for eliminating the threat.
“In Rouen, national police early this morning neutralized an armed individual who was apparently attempting to set fire to a synagogue in the city. I commend their response and courage,” he wrote to X.
The mayor said the man appeared to have thrown “something that resembled a Molotov cocktail” into the synagogue’s main prayer room. (Lou Benoist/AFP via Getty Images)
Prosecutors in Rouen are investigating the circumstances surrounding the synagogue fire and the man killed by police, according to the Associated Press.
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France, which has the largest Jewish and Muslim population in Western Europe, has seen an increase in anti-Semitic acts and anti-Israel protests following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
