Identity of Louvre machete attacker confirmed

French investigators on Wednesday confirm the suspect in last week’s machete attack outside the Louvre Museum in Paris is a 29-year-old Egyptian, a source close to the probe says.

The man, Abdallah El-Hamahmy, had already been tentatively identified through phone and visa records that matched the name he gave to police.

“Following checks, there is no longer any doubt as to his identity,” the source says.

In Friday’s attack at the world’s busiest museum, Hamahmy was wielding two machetes when he lunged at four soldiers in the underground ticketing area, shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is Great).

One of the soldiers shot and seriously wounded him in the stomach, and he is recovering in a Paris hospital.

— AFP