French police have foiled a plot to carry out a “mass murder” during the Olympic Flame parade in Bordeaux on Thursday.
A 26-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday in Eysines, Gironde, French publication NEWS reported, on suspicion of planning a mass murder today.
Concerns first arose following a report from the Pharos intelligence platform, which detected a message referencing a 2014 mass murder in the United States.
On the suspect’s Facebook profile, investigators discovered a post that referenced ‘virgin killer’ Elliot Rodger, responsible for the 2014 Isla Vista murders in California, exactly 10 years ago today, with the comment: ‘We miss you ,Elliot’.
Members of the public look at a torchbearer holding the Olympic torch as part of the Olympic and Paralympic torch relay, ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, in Saint-Emilion, southwestern France, on Thursday, where police foiled a plot to carry out a mass attack
Saint-Emilion Mayor Bernard Lauret holds the Olympic torch as part of the Olympic and Paralympic torch relay, ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, in Saint-Emilion, southwestern France, on Thursday
During a search of his home, the police also seized a revolver with rubber bullets, several mobile phones and a computer.
While in police custody, the arrested man spoke of his plan to commit mass murder, but made no connection to the Olympic flame event.
The man added that he planned for the attack to end in his suicide.
The planned attack would have come exactly 10 years after Rodger shot and killed six people and wounded 14 others in Isla Vista, near the University of California, in 2014, before taking his own life.
Before her attack, she had posted a chilling video warning of “retaliation” because she was still a virgin at 22.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin praised the police officers as well as “all officers of the Ministry of the Interior” for their commitment to stopping the violent attack.
Pictured: Elliot Rodger killed six people on May 23, 2014 before being killed in a shootout with police in the Isla Vista community near the University of California, Santa Barbara.
