Four days after the murder of a teacher at the Lycée Gambetta-Carnot in Arras on Friday, October 13, the investigation has shed some initial light on the attack, its perpetrator's motives and the help he may have received. According to a judicial source, the alleged perpetrator of the attack, Mohammed Mogouchkov, a 20-year-old former student of the school, was indicted on Tuesday for "murder and attempted murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise" and "criminal terrorist association."
Two other members of his entourage have been indicted. One of his brothers, aged 16, was charged with "complicity in murder and attempted murder in connection with a terrorist plot". He was suspected of having "provided some support for his murderous plan" and of having "given [Mogouchkov] instructions on how to handle knives," explained Jean-François Ricard, the national anti-terrorist prosecutor, at a press briefing. A young cousin of the siblings, aged 15, who was "informed of the plan" to carry out the attack and "did nothing to prevent it," was also charged with "wilful failure to prevent the commission of a crime or misdemeanor".
Ten of the 13 people in police custody were released, "in the absence of any evidence" that the individuals concerned had played any specific role in the attack. Among them were two prisoners: the attacker's older brother, Movsar, convicted of terrorist offenses, and a former cellmate of Movsar, also convicted of terrorism, with whom the killer kept up a correspondence. It was this correspondence that led the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI) to keep a closer eye on Mohammed Mogushkov in July. At this stage, however, investigators have found no evidence that these two prisoners could have incited him to commit the act.
While the investigation is currently focusing on the assailant's close family circle, there has already been some information about his possible motivations and his ideological beliefs. A few minutes before entering the school, Mogouchkov shot a 30-second video in front of a war memorial in Arras, in which he repeatedly attacked "French values," as he termed it.
In his phone, investigators also found a long audio allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) group, which testifies to the same obsession. In it, he developed his "hatred of France, the French, democracy and the education he received in France," summarized the magistrate. According to Le Monde, he exclaimed in this audio: "Oh French, cowards and miscreants. I was in your schools for years and years, I lived among you for years and years, free of charge. (...) You taught me what democracy and human rights are, and you pushed me into hell."
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