Paris attacker, on terror watchlist, had gun license

PARIS — Questions arise Tuesday over how a known radical Islamist who rammed a car laden with weapons and gas canisters into a police van on Paris’s Champs-Elysees was able to hold a firearms license.

Adam Djaziri, a 31-year-old who had been on a watchlist for radical Islamists since 2015, was killed on Monday afternoon as his car smashed into the van on the French capital’s most famous avenue.

Two handguns and a Kalashnikov-style assault rifle were found in the car, while a weapons stash was found at the home of the assailant, who died in the incident.

Djaziri’s father, who has since been detained, tells AFP his son practiced shooting as a sport, and a source close to the probe says he had nine registered weapons including pistols and an assault rifle.

— AFP