On 3 February 2015, three

soldiers A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

, guarding a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

community center in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, were attacked with a knife by Moussa Coulibaly, a lone-wolf

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

Attack

Three soldiers were patrolling outside a Jewish communal building housing a Jewish radio station when Moussa Coulibaly rushed at one of the soldiers with a 20-centimeter (7.8-inch) knife aimed at his throat. Coulibaly only managed to wound that soldier in the face before wounding another soldier in the arm. The bulletproof vests worn by the soldiers prevented more serious injuries. Coulibaly was arrested while attempting to flee. Two accomplices allegedly fled the scene and were not apprehended.

Perpetrator

Moussa Coulibaly, age 30, had previous convictions for

armed robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

and drug-related crimes. On 28 January 2015 he flew to

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, a popular destination at the time for young Europeans intending to fight for

ISIL An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

, but French security authorities contacted Turkish authorities who sent him back to France. He was questioned by

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

in December 2014 for aggressively sharing his religious beliefs in a gym in

Mantes-la-Jolie Mantes-la-Jolie (, often informally called Mantes) is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region of north-central France. It is located to the west of Paris, from the centre of the capital. Mantes-la-Jolie is a subprefe ...

, Ile-de-France, where he lived with his parents and siblings. Police found handwritten documents about religion in the hotel room near the

Gare de Nice-Ville Nice-Ville station ( French: ''Gare de Nice-Ville''), also known as Nice-Thiers station (''Gare de Nice-Thiers''), is the main railway station of Nice, France. It is situated on the Marseille–Ventimiglia railway and constitutes the southwestern ...

where he was staying at the time of the attack. Following his arrest, Coulibaly spoke about his hatred of France, of Jews and of the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

Legal proceedings

Couliaby was indicted on charges of

attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seven ye ...

during a terror operation.

Reaction

US President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

described the Nice stabbing as one of several terrorist incidents that were "unreported" in news media.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nice stabbing, 2015 21st-century attacks on synagogues and Jewish communal organizations 2015 stabbing Antisemitism in France 2015 stabbing February 2015 crimes in Europe February 2015 events in France Islam and antisemitism Islamic terrorism in France Islamic terrorist incidents in 2015 Stabbing attacks in 2015 Stabbing attacks in France Terrorist incidents in France in 2015 Terrorist incidents in Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur Terrorist incidents involving knife attacks

Attack

Perpetrator

Legal proceedings

Reaction

See also

References