Vincent Loques Wiki – Vincent Loques Biography
Vincent Loques was named as one of the three victims who were fatally stabbed during the Thursday morning service at the Notre Dame Church.
Local politician, Eric Ciotti paid tribute to Mr Loques who he said was “extremely devoted to his church”.
Pensées pour Vincent Loquès, sacristain de la basilique Notre Dame de Nice lâchement assassiné par un terroriste islamiste.
Il était extrêmement dévoué à son église, je pense à sa famille, ses proches et à l’ensemble de la communauté catholique. pic.twitter.com/saBjEc1WDj
— Eric Ciotti (@ECiotti) October 29, 2020
Sharing a photograph of Mr Loques, he tweeted: “I am thinking of his family, his loved ones and the whole Catholic community.”
Mr Loques was 55 and a father of two, La Parisien newspaper reported.
Two women were also killed in the attack.
French national paper Le Monde reported that one of the victims, a woman, had her throat cut as the perpetrator tried to behead her.
Je suis sur place avec la @PoliceNat06 et la @pmdenice qui a interpellé l’auteur de l’attaque. Je confirme que tout laisse supposer à un attentat terroriste au sein de la basilique Notre-Dame de #Nice06. pic.twitter.com/VmpDqRwzB1
— Christian Estrosi (@cestrosi) October 29, 2020
Another woman was seriously injured in the attack – she took refuge in the church’s cafe, where she died a few minutes later.
A suspect Brahim Moussaoui, aged 21, was arrested after the Thursday morning attack at the Notre Dame Church in the city and taken to a nearby hospital after being injured as he was detained.
He had reportedly only recently arrived on a refugee boat via the Italian island of Lampedusa.
An official said the suspect is believed to have been acting alone and police are not searching for other attackers.
Following the attack, France raised its national security alert status to the highest possible level – “terror attack emergency”.
The anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office said an investigation was opened into an attack with a terrorist connection.
Meanwhile, two other attacks happened on Thursday morning, although it was not immediately clear if they were linked to the Nice incident.
[#EvenementGrave] Evénement très grave Eglise Notre Dame à Nice Respect le Périmètre de sécurité de @PoliceNationale N’empruntez pas secteur centre ville – Explosion déminage Police Nationale Ne paniquez pas – pic.twitter.com/PqJRyijsab
— Police Nationale 06 (@PoliceNat06) October 29, 2020
Police shot dead a man near the city of Avignon in southern France after he threatened a passerby with a handgun and a Saudi man was arrested on Thursday after a guard was attacked with a “sharp tool” outside the French embassy in Saudi Arabia.
According to Le Monde, a man was also arrested in Lyon. He was found wearing a tactical vest and was armed with a 30 cm knife. According to a police source, the individual had previously been reported to French intelligence services.
Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi posted on Twitter that the alleged perpetrator of the knife attack in the Basilica of Notre-Dame had been arrested.
The suspect is thought to have been acting alone and has not been named. The motivated for the attack also remains unknown.
He said: “I am on site with the @ PoliceNat06 and the @pmdenice who arrested the perpetrator of the attack. I confirm that everything suggests a terrorist attack in the Basilica of Notre-Dame # Nice06.”
IMPORTANT#Nice : une opération de police est en cours. Évitez le secteur et suivez les consignes. Après avoir eu le maire de Nice @cestrosi, je préside une réunion de crise au Ministère de l’Intérieur.
— Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) October 29, 2020
He told BFM television that three people had died – two inside the church and a third who fled but was fatally wounded.
Images on French media showed the neighborhood locked down and surrounded by police and emergency vehicles.
Later on Thursday morning, the lower house of parliament suspended a debate on new virus restrictions. The deputies, alongside Prime Minister Jean Castex, held a moment of silence for the victims.
On Thursday afternoon, French President Emmanuel Macron traveled to Nice to deliver a defiant message.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron arrives in Nice on the afternoon of the attack
Outside the Notre-Dame Basilica, he said the attacks would not cause France to “give up [its] values”.
He added that he would immediately increase the number of soldiers deployed to protect schools and religious sites from around 3,000 currently to 7,000.
Police described the incident as “very serious”. In a post on Twitter, the force asked the public not to panic and to steer clear of the city center.
They added that the bomb disposal teams have been carrying out a controlled explosion in the area.
Meanwhile, the Minister of the Interior, Gerald Darmanin, announced that a “crisis meeting” had begun.
The French Council of the Muslim Faith condemned the Nice attack and called on French Muslims to refrain from festivities this week marking the birth of Muhammad “as a sign of mourning and in solidarity with the victims and their loved ones.”
I am appalled to hear the news from Nice this morning of a barbaric attack at the Notre-Dame Basilica. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families, and the UK stands steadfastly with France against terror and intolerance.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) October 29, 2020
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he is “appalled” to hear about the “barbaric” attack in Nice.
“Our thoughts are with the victims and their families, and the UK stands steadfastly with France against terror and intolerance,” he added.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the UK stands with France “in sorrow, shock and solidarity”, while Home Secretary Priti Patel said the country is “ready to provide any support that the French government needs at this really crucial time”.
UK Home Secretary Priti Patel said she’s “devastated” for the people of France
Other world leaders also paid tribute to the people of France.
US President Donald Trump said on Twitter: “Our hearts are with the people of France.
“America stands with our oldest Ally in this fight. These Radical Islamic terrorist attacks must stop immediately. No country, France or otherwise can long put up with it!”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel voiced her solidarity with her neighboring country.
In a tweet posted by her spokesman, she said: “I am deeply shaken by the brutal murders in the church in Nice.
The left in France are already declaring France is a Muslim country. French ambassador to Sweden made that declaration the other day from Stockholm. The irony. Talk about Stockholm syndrome. pic.twitter.com/OosMRALIQI
— Melissa Tate (@TheRightMelissa) October 29, 2020
“My thoughts are with the relatives of those murdered and injured. Germany stands with France at
