"Deeply shocked by the appalling #ConflansSainteHonorine attack. We stand alongside our French friends and the victim's family. Hate and violence, terrorism and extremism will never overcome freedom and democracy," Borrell wrote on Twitter.
Profondément choqué par l'attaque effroyable de #ConflansSainteHonorine.
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) October 18, 2020
Nous nous tenons aux côtés de nos amis Français et de la famille de la victime.
La haine et la violence, le terrorisme et l'extrémisme ne vaincront jamais la liberté et la démocratie.
The killer, identified as Abdullakh Anzorov, was shot dead by French police shortly after the attack. Nine other people were detained as part of the investigation.
Spokesperson of the Russian Embassy in France, Sergey Parinov, told Sputnik on Saturday that the suspect had lived in France with his family on a legal basis since 2008. The attacker himself received a residence permit upon reaching the age of 18, according to Parinov.
According to France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard, the suspect was born in Moscow in 2002, was of Chechen origin, and had received refugee status in France.
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has condemned the attack on the French teacher, urging French investigators on Saturday not to seek a "Chechen trace" in the attack, and stressing that the attacker had spent most of his life and was likely radicalized in France.