The condition of a man who was shot after attacking troops at the Louvre in Paris has improved and is “no longer life-threatening”, a source close to the case said on Saturday. Based on his phone and visa records, he is thought to be a 29-year-old Egyptian national who is resident in the United Arab Emirates.
But the man has not recovered sufficiently to be able to communicate with investigators, the source said.
The machete-wielding attacker lunged at four French soldiers while shouting “Allahu Akbar” (”God is greatest”) in a public area that leads to one of the Louvre Museum’s entrances.
One of the troops was slightly injured after being struck on the head.
A second soldier opened fire five times and hit the assailant in the stomach.
Investigators have established he entered France legally on a flight from Dubai on January 26 and had rented an expensive apartment near the Champs Elysees, sources close to the case told AFP.
His motive for the attack is not yet known, but President Francois Hollande has said that “there is little doubt as to the terrorist nature of this act”. However, the attacker’s father, Reda El-Hamahmy, insisted on Saturday that he believed his son to be innocent and he had showed no signs of radicalisation.
Mr. Hamahmy, a retired police general, told AFP he had been constantly in touch with his son who worked as a sales manager in Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates.
“He went on a company trip and when it was over visited the museum. He was supposed to leave on Saturday,” Mr. Hamahmy said.
Mr. Hamahmy said he believed the wounded suspect was his son, Abdallah El-Hamahmy, who he said has had no contact with the family since Friday.
