On Friday, October 16, in a suburb of Paris, school teacher Samuel Pati was beheaded by an 18-year-old Chechen man who was soon shot by police. The macabre incident, which President Macron has already called an «act of terrorism» could be directly related to the work of Party — who taught «freedom of expression.»
What is known about the deceased?
Pati, 47, was a history and geography teacher at one of the city's high schools. Shortly before his death, he discussed freedom of expression with students in class, demonstrating as an example the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that led to the shooting at the editorial office of Charlie Hebdo.
After the lesson, several families complained about Party to the school administration, one of them also posted a video of the lesson on social networks. After the death of Samuel, a commentary from another parent appeared under the record, noting that he behaved in the lesson in an extremely correct way — advising Muslim students to temporarily leave the classroom if they consider the images offensive.
“He was a great teacher. — added the author of the comment — He tried to encourage critical thinking in students and always treated them with respect.
At the moment, the video has been deleted.
What is known about the attacker?
According to authorities, Pati's killer was an 18-year-old Moscow native of Chechen origin. A man who managed to share photos of Samuel's body on Twitter was shot about 600 meters from the crime scene. Presumably, he refused to lay down his weapons and began to threaten the officers.
Witnesses say they also heard him shout «Allahu Akbar» before the murder.
At the moment, the name of the attacker has not been disclosed, but it is known that 9 more suspects were arrested in connection with the incident — including his parents, grandparents and younger brother, 17.
Ce soir, c'est la République qui est attaquée avec l'assassinat ignoble de l'un de ses serviteurs, un professeur.
Je pense ce soir à lui, à sa famille.
Notre unité et notre fermeté sont les seules réponses face à la monstruosité du terrorisme islamiste.
Nous ferons face.
— Jean-Michel Blanquer (@jmblanquer) October 16, 2020
What are the authorities saying?
In a statement at the scene of the tragedy, President Macron called the incident a «dastardly attack» and «an act of terror,» adding that Party was killed for «teaching freedom of expression, faith and disbelief.»
Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquet also commented on the attack on social media, calling the teacher's murder an attack on the whole of France and calling for «unity» in the face of terrorism.
