Karim Cheurfi: Difference between revisions
imported>.GIFfany Ramirez-McSkirmish →2001 attacks: Org crime |
imported>.GIFfany Ramirez-McSkirmish BBC |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
'''Karim Cheurfi''' is a | '''Karim Cheurfi''' (December 31, 1977-April 20, 2017)<ref name="BBC">[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39671542 Paris Champs Elysees attack gunman named as Karim Cheurfi], BBC News, April 2017</ref> is a serial gunman who shot police officers in three separate attacks in France. Motivated by lifelong hatred of police and latterly by Islamic extremism, Cheurfi wounded four officers and killed one, as well as injuring two civillians. He was himself shot dead during his final attack, on April 20, 2017. | ||
==2001 attacks== | ==2001 attacks== | ||
In 2001 Cheurfi crashed a stolen car, shooting and injuring a police officer and his brother who gave chase, severely injuring both.<ref name="TheLocal"/> Days later he grabbed a second officer's gun while he was in custody and shot and wounded that officer.<ref name="Indy">[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/paris-attack-isis-terror-champs-elysees-gunman-accomplice-police-manhunt-belgian-karim-cheurfi-a7694266.html Paris attack: Champs-Elysees suspect was jailed for shooting police and subject of terror investigation] ''The Independent'', April 2017</ref> Following a 2003 trial he was sentenced to 20 years,<ref name="Indy"/> reduced on appeal to 15 years, for the three attempted murders.<ref name="TheLocal"/> He received parole in 2013.<ref name="TheLocal"/> | In 2001 Cheurfi crashed a stolen car, shooting and injuring a police officer and his brother who gave chase, severely injuring both.<ref name="TheLocal"/> Days later he grabbed a second officer's gun while he was in custody and shot and wounded that officer.<ref name="Indy">[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/paris-attack-isis-terror-champs-elysees-gunman-accomplice-police-manhunt-belgian-karim-cheurfi-a7694266.html Paris attack: Champs-Elysees suspect was jailed for shooting police and subject of terror investigation] ''The Independent'', April 2017</ref> Following a 2003 trial he was sentenced to 20 years,<ref name="Indy"/> reduced on appeal to 15 years, for the three attempted murders.<ref name="TheLocal"/> He received parole in 2013.<ref name="TheLocal"/> | ||
These crimes were linked at the time to organised crime rather than terror.<ref name="Telegraph">[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/20/paris-attack-suspect/ Paris attack: who is Karim Cheurfi, the gunman who lived with his mother and was 'let go' by French authorities in February?], ''The Telegraph'', April 2017</ref> Three months after release he committed an armed robbery, being captured after a car chase; in July 2014 he received a sentence of four years with two suspended, and was released in 2015.<ref name=" | These crimes were linked at the time to organised crime rather than terror.<ref name="Telegraph">[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/20/paris-attack-suspect/ Paris attack: who is Karim Cheurfi, the gunman who lived with his mother and was 'let go' by French authorities in February?], ''The Telegraph'', April 2017</ref> Three months after release he committed an armed robbery, being captured after a car chase; in July 2014 he received a sentence of four years with two suspended,<ref name="TheLocal"/> and was released in October 2015.<ref name="BBC"/> | ||
==Background== | ==Background== | ||
| Line 10: | Line 10: | ||
Cheurfi lived an isolated existence with few or no friends,<ref name="Telegraph"/> and stayed with his parents in Chelles, Paris.<ref name="Indy"/> Neighbours in the ethnically-diverse eastern suburb described him as a vulnerable but violent mentally ill man with a deep hatred of police and who never visited his local mosque.<ref name="TheLocal">[https://www.thelocal.fr/20170421/champs-elyses-shooter-has-history-of-violence-against-police Champs-Elysées gunman: An unstable criminal who 'hated French police'], ''The Local'', April 2017</ref> | Cheurfi lived an isolated existence with few or no friends,<ref name="Telegraph"/> and stayed with his parents in Chelles, Paris.<ref name="Indy"/> Neighbours in the ethnically-diverse eastern suburb described him as a vulnerable but violent mentally ill man with a deep hatred of police and who never visited his local mosque.<ref name="TheLocal">[https://www.thelocal.fr/20170421/champs-elyses-shooter-has-history-of-violence-against-police Champs-Elysées gunman: An unstable criminal who 'hated French police'], ''The Local'', April 2017</ref> | ||
Cheurfi was a Parisian from birth, being raised in the northeastern Livry-Gargan suburb.<ref name="BBC"/> | |||
==Radicalisation== | ==Radicalisation== | ||
| Line 17: | Line 19: | ||
==2017 attack== | ==2017 attack== | ||
On April 20, 2017 Cheurfi drove | At 20:47pm<ref name="BBC"/> On April 20, 2017 Cheurfi drove an Audi<ref name="BBC"/> car behind a marked police van which was parked outside a Marks & Spencers on the Champs-Elysees.<ref name="Indy"/> He opened fire with an AK-47,<ref name="Indy"/> shooting dead officer Xavier Jugelé, 37, through the van's driver's window.<ref name="BBC"/> He then attacked and injured two police officers stationed guarding a Turkish tourist office.<ref name="BBC"/> A German lady's foot was also injured.<ref name="Indy"/> Security forces subsequently shot and killed the 39-year-old attacker.<ref name="Indy"/><ref name="BBC"/> | ||
===Investigation=== | ===Investigation=== | ||