An “Islamist terrorist” who allegedly stabbed a man to death in France avoided deportation 10 times, the country’s interior minister said on Sunday.

The suspect launched a stabbing spree in the middle of a market in the eastern city of Mulhouse on Saturday, killing a 69-year-old man who tried to stop the attack. Two police officers were seriously injured, while three more were lightly wounded.

The suspect, identified as 37-year-old Algerian national Brahim A, allegedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” multiple times during the attack.

He had been placed on a terror prevention watchlist, was known to police for having psychological problems and was under an order to leave France after arriving illegally in 2014.

Bruno Retailleau, France’s interior minister, accused Algeria of refusing to take the suspect back nearly a dozen times.