Jewish victim of France attack says stabber wanted to behead him

The Jewish teacher stabbed by a 15-year-old in the southern French city of Marseille believes the teen, an ethnic Kurd, wanted to decapitate him, his lawyer says.

The teenager, who told police he was acting in the name of the Islamic State group, stabbed the 35-year-old teacher in the shoulder and hand in the attack, which took place in broad daylight on Monday.

The teacher’s lawyer, Fabrice Labi, says his client had told him: “I had the feeling he wanted to decapitate me.”

Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin says the weapon was blunt, which helped limit the damage. The teacher was released from hospital on Monday night.

“I told him to stop hitting me but he kept going and I didn’t think I would get out alive,”, the teacher told La Provence newspaper, adding he had seen “hatred… in the eyes of the attacker.”

The teacher was wearing a skull cap and used his Torah as a shield to fend off the assailant.

— AFP