'Islamist terror attack', says France's Macron after teacher beheaded in Paris

The teacher reportedly showed his pupils cartoons of Prophet Muhammad

emmanuel-macron-afp French President Emmanuel Macron | AFP

A middle school history teacher in France's capital province of Paris was beheaded for showing his pupils cartoons of Prophet Muhammad, considered blasphemous by Muslims, multiple reports claimed. The suspect, armed with a knife and an airsoft gun was shot to death by police about 600 metres from where the male teacher was killed. The teacher had been threatened after opening a discussion the debate, news agency AP reported.

The French anti-terrorism prosecutor has opened an investigation into the slaying for murder with a suspected terrorist motive. The gruesome incident occurred in the town of Eragny, in the Val d'Oise region northwest of Paris. 

"One of our fellow citizens was assassinated today because he was teaching, he was teaching pupils about freedom of expression," French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters at the scene of the attack, according to Reuters."Our compatriot was flagrantly attacked, was the victim of an Islamist terrorist attack," Macron said. "They won't win. We will act. Firmly, And quickly. You can count on my determination."

It was the second terrorism-related incident since the opening of an ongoing trial on the newsroom massacre in January 2015 at the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. The killings touched off a wave of violence claimed by the Islamic State group across Europe. Seventeen people died 12 of them at the editorial offices along with all three attackers.

-Inputs from agencies

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