The Yvelines and its police are again affected by terrorism.
A 36-year-old man cut his throat this Friday afternoon in Rambouillet (Yvelines), an administrative secretary, aged 49, stationed at the police station.
This new knife attack caused a wave of emotion and sadness in the ranks of the police officers of this already very badly affected department.
And, far beyond, caused a shock wave among law enforcement agencies across the country.
It is 2:20 p.m. when Stéphanie M., 49, takes advantage of her break to change the parking disc of her car, parked in the street.
When she returns to the door of the police station, a man is waiting for her to enter the entrance hall to push her inside.
He stabs him twice in the throat, shouting "Allahu akbar", according to witnesses on the spot.
An official takes out his service weapon and shoots the assailant down with two bullets.
VIDEO.
Rambouillet attack: "The Yvelines department is severely tested by terrorism"
"Our colleague had the right reflex by immediately neutralizing the killer," said a police commander in the area. If he had had the time, the terrorist could have injured or killed several people inside ”. The police and firefighters come to the aid of the victims. The doctors of the Samu, quickly on the spot, take care of the wounded but can do nothing for Stéphanie and her attacker, who die a few minutes later.
Investigators from the criminal brigade of the regional directorate of the judicial police of Versailles, supported by their colleagues from the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI), are responsible for carrying out the investigations.
They quickly identify the killer, thanks to his identity papers.
Jamel Gorchane is 36 years old.
This Tunisian arrived in France in 2009 in an irregular situation, before obtaining a residence permit.
He was officially domiciled in Thiais (Val-de-Marne), but his father lives in Rambouillet.
Jamel Gorchane, who arrived in France from Tunisia in 2009, was domiciled in Val-de-Marne.
DR
Police records only mention one traffic crime, and it was not known or followed to embrace radical Islamic theses.
"The fact that he shouted
Allahu akbar
and the presence of files related to Islamist terrorism, found at his home and on his phone, are the essential elements which made it possible to confirm the thesis of an attack", specifies a source close to the investigation.
Read also Policewoman killed in Rambouillet: "Many officers feel less safe today"
At the end of the afternoon, the national anti-terrorism prosecution took up the case.
In the evening, a police operation was carried out at the home of the terrorist's father, in Rambouillet, and a second in Thiais.
His father and the “landlord” of Val-de-Marne, as well as a third suspect, were taken into custody by investigators who are trying to better understand the killer's entourage.
"He officially lived in Thiais but this man especially knew the Yvelines and seemed to reside at his father's home," said another source.
A proximity attack, therefore, and "low-cost", like all those that have occurred in recent years.
A lovely woman who is always available
In Rambouillet, the officials of this small police station known for its tranquility are devastated. It is a place with a human dimension where everyone knows each other. Stéphanie was married and the mother of two children. She lived in a village in the south of the department. Her two daughters are 18 and 13 years old. The 40-year-old had been at the police station since 2003. “She had first worked in the offices of the public prosecutor who manages tickets. For a while, she was in charge of the secretariat of the department's management, ”says one of her colleagues. “It's terrible for us, Stéphanie was a lovely woman. An excellent colleague who is always available and very efficient in her work, ”adds another Rambouillet civil servant, devastated.
In this town in the south of Yvelines known to be "very quiet", the inhabitants are in shock.
The town of 27,000 inhabitants surrounded by forest is not used to being in the spotlight.
In the suburban street where the police station is located, a few people, gathered behind the police cars, came "to see".
The inhabitants, dumbfounded, explain that Rambouillet is a place "all that there is more peaceful".
“Here, we've never known a drama like this.
"The shock, the sadness, the incomprehension ..." We feel all these mixed feelings at the same time.
If a tribute is organized, Hélène, Catherine and Paule, intend to participate.
“Unfortunately, that's not what will bring her back.
"
The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, and the Prime Minister, Jean Castex, quickly went to the scene.
LP / Jean-Baptiste Quentin
This tragic affair is a real shock for the police officers of the department who have already been very marked by the assassination of the commander of Mureaux, Jean-Baptiste Salvaing, and his wife, Jessica Schneider, who worked at the Mantes-la-Jolie police station.
An attack perpetrated by an Islamist terrorist in June 2016 in the couple's pavilion in Magnanville.
“The choice of Rambouillet is totally unexpected but I am not surprised by the fact that this attack is occurring once again in the Yvelines, confides a police commissioner.
It is a department where Islamist ideas are deeply rooted and we are paying a heavy price for it.
"
Once again, the terrorist was unknown to the services and therefore went under the radar. "It will be necessary to strengthen the awareness of families on signs of radicalization which can only be detected by the closest entourage of this kind of individuals", recommends a security source, upset by this new very heavy price paid by the forces of order.
