Marseille suspect released by cops before attack
PARIS/EDMONTON The man suspected of carrying out Sunday's attack in the French city of Marseille, killing two, had been arrested and then released by police days before the incident, a source close to the investigation said.
The source said the suspect was stopped by police in Lyon on Sept 29 on suspicion of robbery. He was released due to a lack of evidence.
His identity remains unclear, the source added.
"The murderer had eight different aliases. Each time he was stopped, he presented a different identity paper. That is why it is so difficult," the source said.
A soldier shot the suspect dead after he had stabbed two women to death at a train station, in what officials described as a "likely terrorist act".
The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has claimed responsibility for the attack.
In Canada, the Somali refugee who had been on a watch list over extremist views faces five counts of attempted murder and terror charges, after the police said he stabbed a police officer and ran down four pedestrians with a car on Sunday in Edmonton, Alberta.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Assistant Commissioner Marlin Degrand said an "exhaustive investigation" into the 30-year-old for promoting extremist ideology in 2015 did not uncover sufficient evidence to pursue charges. Canadian media has identified the suspect as Abdulahi Hasan Sharif.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the Edmonton attack "another example of the hate that we must remain ever vigilant against". - REUTERS
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