Mass stabbing in France considered a terror attack.

Police gather near the scene of the attack in Romans-sur-Isere. BBC/Getty.

A mass stabbing in France has left two people dead and five wounded in the town of Romans-sur-Isere. BBC. The attacker targeted a tobacco outlet and then a butchers shop. The suspect was a 33 year old man from Sudan and was apprehended in the street while praying. Though the attacker's motive has not been disclosed, Islamic terrorism is thought to be the motivation. A 2nd person was arrested, though it is unclear if they were connected to the crime or not. The attack comes as the entire nation of France is on lockdown with only critical stores open due to the Coronavirus. 

My Comment:

This attack was probably made less deadly due to the fact that the entire country of France is on lockdown. Normally there would have been a lot of targets for this attacker to stab but he was only able to stab seven people before the police got to him. He had a less target rich environment for sure. Of course mass stabbings tend to have fewer deaths than other forms of terror attacks largely because the attacker is easier to flee from, but regardless, this could have been worse. 

I think it's pretty clear that this is an Islamic terror attack. The man was found praying in Arabic when they came to arrest him and there was religious documents in his house. It seems obvious that this attack was motivated by religion. 

The real question is if he had any help. Whoever was living with him got picked up as well, but it's unclear how much involvement they had. What is really pressing is if this man was part of a terror cell or not. If he is then there could be follow up attacks.

However, I tend to think that he probably did not have much in the way of direct help. Mass stabbings are usually the domain of lone wolf attackers that can't secure a more deadly form of attack. More organized attackers that have funding and help tend to go with explosives, firearms or even vehicle ramming attacks, not mass stabbings. Organized mass stabbings have happened in the past but they are fairly rare. My guess is that this guy didn't have direct support of a terror group like ISIS or al-Qaeda, and if he had any help at all it was from his family or friends. 

It's very possible that this attack was inspired by a terror group. ISIS has been calling for terror attacks again, despite warning their own forces against the danger of Coronavirus. Though such news has been buried by the outbreak it's very possible this attacker saw that call and headed it. Despite being a shadow of it's former self, ISIS can still call for attacks even if it no longer has the capabilities to carry them out themselves.

Thankfully, this attack was fairly minor, as mass stabbings tend to be. It wasn't a failed attack as people still died, but things could have been a lot worse. Of course France has enough on it's plate right now with the Coronavirus outbreak that the last thing it needs is a terror attack.