Synagogue attack suspect caught in shootout with French police: source

France is treating the explosion as a possible act of terror – Copyright AFP Pascal GUYOT

French police arrested a suspect for an attack on a synagogue after a shootout in which the man was wounded, a source close to the investigation said Sunday.

The suspect, a 33-year-old Algerian, was detained in the southern city of Nimes on Saturday night, a few hours after the attack on the synagogue in the nearby seaside resort of La Grand Motte in which a police officer was injured.

The investigation source said that four people are now in custody after two cars were set alight in a car park under the synagogue, causing an explosion just 30 minutes before its Saturday service.

The main suspect was wounded in a shootout with specialist officers who had been hunting him, according to the source. The suspect’s life was not in danger.

The suspect, who was wearing a Palestinian flag around his waist, was caught on closed circuit television staging the attack, according to images seen by AFP.

After visiting the synagogue, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said that “an absolute tragedy” had been narrowly avoided.