Although six victims, including a police officer, were immediately located, a seventh injured person has since been found, a 53-year-old man who left the scene, the prosecutor’s statement said.

Beccuau said the attacker’s identity has yet to be formally established. Investigators said he presents himself as a 31-year-old Algerian national and was known to French authorities under various identities for home burglary, theft and rebellion in 2019 and 2021, the statement said on Sunday.

He received orders to leave French territory in 2020 and last September, the statement said.

A preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect threw himself at a man in front of the third train station and stabbed him about 20 times for no apparent reason. The attacker then entered the station and attacked other civilians and a police officer. Screams alerted two other police officers who intervened.

Beccuau said the inquest would attempt to clarify the alleged attacker’s exact actions, motives and personality.