An Afghan migrant stabbed a man to death after becoming angry when he saw them drinking alcohol during Eid.
The man fatally stabbed one person and wounded another on Wednesday in the French southwestern city of Bordeaux.
The attack took place in the early evening, near the banks of the Garonne river in central Bordeaux.
Police shot and killed the assailant minutes later as he threatened them with a knife. The incident happened in a central area of Bordeaux, popular with tourists.
The incident took place on the banks of the Garonne river in central Bordeaux.
Getty
Bordeaux public prosecutor Frédérique Porterie told journalists: "The attacker reproached the victims for drinking alcohol during Eid [the Muslim festival marking the end of Ramadan]."
"They told him it was none of his business, and he punched them before walking away. They threw cans at him and he returned and took out a knife."
Le Monde reports that a man wearing "a qamis and a keffiyeh covering his face and revealing only his eyes," approached and spoke to two men aged 26 and 37, both born in Algeria, who were drinking beers.
According to the account given by the younger man, who survived the attack, the man had criticised them, "in broken French," for drinking alcohol on the day of Eid, a religious celebration that marks the end of Ramadan.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Police officers remain at the scene
Reuters
The two Algerian friends, one of whom is homeless and the other living in accommodation provided by the France terre d'asile charity organisation, allegedly retorted: "It's none of your business."
The assailant then punched them several times before walking away. According to several witnesses, the two friends got up and threw beer cans in his direction.
The man then turned back, pulled out a switchblade knife and stabbed them violently.
The older victim, named by local media as Rachid Bouach, sustained nine stab wounds. The younger victim, who was stabbed three times, was admitted to hospital. His condition is no considered to be longer life-threatening.
Bordeaux Mayor Pierre Hurmic spoke to reporters after the incident
Reuters
Bordeaux mayor Pierre Hurmic told reporters: "I understand, I'm shocked, I was here last night right after the act was committed and there were passersby, and I understand how they could be very shocked.
"That's why we've urgently put up this outreach zone, in order to answer their questions and give them psychological first aid that they need.
"We'll do everything to help with the success of the investigation. Notably, we have nine CCTV cameras here that operate around the entirety of the site, and so the images gathered last night are already at the disposal of the investigators.
""Even outside this serious incident, there's common work among the city, the prefecture, the courts, the national police to make sure that Bordeaux is a city that is as safe as possible."
