The terror suspect in a stabbing in Paris on Saturday evening that left one dead and others injured had already been jailed in France for a previously unsuccessful attack.
Arman Rajabpour-Miyandoab, a 26-year-old French national of Iranian origin, was incarcerated for four years for planning an attack in the Parisian business hub of La Défense in the summer of 2016.
He was subsequently released in 2020 and lived with his parents in Essonne near the French capital.
He was arrested on Saturday evening after stabbing to death a German-Filipino national near the Eiffel Tower and injuring at least two others as he ran from police. He reportedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the rampage before being neutralized by a taser gun and detained.
In a video recorded shortly before the attack, Rajabpour-Miyandoab declared himself a supporter of Islamic State and pledged to “avenge the Muslims,” as translated by France 24 journalist Wassim Nasr.
He later elaborated on this with police after his arrest, telling the authorities he couldn’t sit by and watch “Arabs being killed in Afghanistan and Palestine,” and saying he wanted to die as a martyr, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin told reporters.
“He is known to the intelligence and justice services,” the French minister confirmed. “He had already wanted to carry out violent action but had been arrested before being able to do it.
“He is being monitored as a person with very significant psychiatric disorders. He was also under psychiatric and neurological treatment,” Darmanin added.
Rajabpour-Miyandoab’s radicalization dates back several years. In 2016, Le Parisien reported that when he was arrested police discovered communications with a jihadist fighter who had traveled to Syria and who Rajabpour-Miyandoab described to police as a “model” to follow.
He also appeared to be connected to Larossi Abballa through Facebook, a jihadist who murdered two people in their home in Magnanville back in 2016. His victims were a police officer who was stabbed multiple times and his wife who had her throat slit.
It was also reported on Saturday that Rajabpour-Miyandoab had also been in contact with Abdoullakh Anzorov, the Islamist terrorist who beheaded French teacher Samuel Paty back in 2020.
Agence France Presse confirmed on Saturday that the anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office had been placed in charge of the ongoing investigation.
