(Radio France) Chérif Chekatt had been imprisoned 27 times and was about to be arrested again when he opened fire on the Strasbourg Christmas market last week, killing five people and injuring 11.
Although the motives for his attack are not clear, he was heard to shout “Allahu Akbar!” as he opened fire and had shown signs of radicalisation in jail. So are French prisons breeding grounds for terrorists?
Chekatt’s shooting spree cost the lives of a fellow Muslim, Afghan refugee Kamal Naghchband, as well as a Thai tourist, a Polish immigrant, an Italian journalist and a 61-year-old former bankworker.
He himself was shot dead after a 48-hour manhunt.
