At this stage, there is nothing to suggest that the incident was a terrorist attack, but it certainly amounts to more than a mere brawl. At a press conference on Thursday, April 11, the Bordeaux prosecutor, Frédérique Porterie, gave a detailed update on the investigation into the previous evening's violent stabbing altercation, that killed one person and seriously injured another on the quays of the Garonne river in Bordeaux.

Shortly after 7:30 pm on Wednesday, as many Bordeaux residents were enjoying the nice weather with a drink on the lawns beside the river, a man wearing "a qamis and a keffiyeh covering his face and revealing only his eyes," approached and spoke to two men aged 26 and 37, both born in Algeria, who were sipping beers while sitting on the grass in front of the "water mirror," a shallow water feature located between the city's Bourse square and the quays.

According to the account given by the younger man, who survived the attack, the man had criticized them, "in broken French," for drinking alcohol on the day of Eid, a religious celebration that marks the end of Ramadan. The two Algerian friends, one of whom is homeless and the other living in accommodation provided by the France terre d'asile charity organisation, allegedly retorted: "It's none of your business." The assailant then punched them several times before walking away.

According to several witnesses, the two friends got up and threw beer cans in his direction. The man then turned back, pulled out a switchblade knife and stabbed them violently. The older victim, Rachid Bouach, sustained nine stab wounds, four of which – to his chest – proved fatal. The younger victim, who was stabbed three times, was admitted to hospital. His condition is no longer life-threatening.

The assailant then headed for the Pont de Pierre bridge, where he came across a police squad who had just received his description over the radio. The officers asked him to drop his weapon; but, according to several witnesses, he then moved toward them in an "aggressive" and "threatening" manner, brandishing his weapon. After issuing "the usual warnings," one of the police officers fatally shot him three times with his assault rifle.

No identity documents were found on the assailant's body. However, according to the Eurodac database, which records the fingerprints of asylum seekers registered in European Union member states, "he was of Afghan origin and aged 25." The magistrate added that by confirming his identity, which has yet to be verified, it may be possible to find out more about his motive.

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