April 2017 Champs-Élysées attack
On 20 April 2017, three French National Police officers were shot by Karim Cheurfi, a French national wielding an AK-47 rifle on the Champs-Élysées boulevard in Paris. One officer, French National Police Captain Xavier Jugelé, was killed and two other French National Police officers and a German tourist were seriously wounded. Karim Cheurfi was then shot dead by police. Amaq News Agency, which is linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), claimed the attacker was an ISIS fighter. French police and prosecutors are investigating the attack as terrorism, and have launched a counter-terrorism prosecution.
| April 2017 Champs-Élysées attack | |
|---|---|
| Part of Islamic terrorism in Europe | |
Flags and candles in memory of the victims (2017) | |
April 2017 Champs-Élysées attack (Paris) April 2017 Champs-Élysées attack (Île-de-France (region)) April 2017 Champs-Élysées attack (France) April 2017 Champs-Élysées attack (Europe) | |
| Location | Paris, France |
| Coordinates | 48°52′11″N 2°18′30″E |
| Date | 20 April 2017 20:47 (CET) |
| Target | Police officers on the Champs-Élysées |
Attack type | Shooting |
| Weapons | AK-47 rifle |
| Deaths | 2 (Jugelé and the perpetrator) |
| Injured | 3 |
| Assailant | Karim Cheurfi |
| Motive | Islamic extremism |
The attacker was identified as French national Karim Cheurfi, who had an extensive criminal record that included a conviction and a twelve-year prison sentence for an earlier attempt to murder two police officers. Police found a note praising ISIS, along with addresses of police stations, on his body. Because the attack took place immediately before the country's 2017 presidential election, media reports commented on its possible influence in the election's tone.