Computer experts have spoken: the stabbing attack at the Paris police headquarters on October 3, 2019 is terrorist in nature. That day, shortly before 1 p.m., Mickaël Harpon, a computer scientist stationed at the Intelligence Directorate (DRPP), killed four agents and injured two others, before being shot dead inside the prefecture itself, located on the Ile de la Cité, opposite Notre-Dame. The anti-terrorist police were beaten in one of its sanctuaries.
Until now, only the professional IT equipment of this administrative assistant had been able to be assessed. This is how jihadist propaganda videos, including beheading scenes, as well as various information collected by the DRPP, were found on USB keys, which is not surprising given the nature of the work of a secret defense defense computer assigned to a sensitive department. To understand the genesis of his gesture, investigators from the Directorate General of Internal Security (DGSI), the counter-terrorism sub-direction of the judicial police and the Paris Criminal Brigade relied on the official's personal equipment.
However, without knowing the passwords used, this analysis of computers and smartphones turned out to be particularly long. We had to “break” the system, which was a feat. Once highlighted, the navigation of Mickaël Harpon, who converted to Islam a decade ago, confirmed the suspicions of radicalization. According to our information, an hour before the attack, the official typed the search "kill disbelievers" on the Internet ... Mickaël Harpon's research also concerns "kouffars" (disbelievers) but also more trivial subjects such as infidelity within couple or plane tickets to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca. However, no specific action plan was detected. The morning of the killing, Harpon bought two knives in the neighborhood.
Nunez before the dysfunction investigation committee this Wednesday
The case was entrusted to anti-terrorist judges but it still raises a number of questions, linked to the personality of the murderer. The man was indeed psychologically fragile and plagued by problems within his couple. Suffering from a deafness handicap, he felt rejected by some of his colleagues. Sources close to the investigation describe "a hybrid profile" evolving on the borders of terrorism and psychiatry. His wife describes to investigators the violent mystical crisis experienced by her husband the previous night. Story corroborated by neighbors.
Knife attack in Paris: "Three police officers and an administrative agent were killed"
Faced with the latest developments in the case, in particular the revelation of the nature of the assassin's Internet consultations, the families of the killed police officers asked to be received by Christophe Castaner, the Minister of the Interior. As for Secretary of State Laurent Nunez, he must intervene this Wednesday afternoon before the commission of inquiry into the dysfunctions that led to the attack on the police headquarters. He should stick to the administrative aspects of the file.