Suspect in Louvre attack placed under formal investigation: source

Reuters
Reda Abdullah al-Hamamy, the father of Abdullah Reda al-Hamamy who is suspected of attacking a soldier in Paris' Louvre museum, holds a picture of his son during an interview with Reuters in Daqahliya, Egypt, February 4, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

PARIS (Reuters) - A man who attacked soldiers with machetes at the Louvre museum in Paris was placed under formal investigation on Friday, a judicial source said. Egyptian Abdullah Reda al-Hamamy, 29, was shot and seriously wounded when he launched himself at a group of soldiers on Feb. 3, crying out "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) in what French President Francois Hollande described as a terrorist attack. He has told police that he identified with the beliefs of Islamic State but he had not carried out the attack on orders from the militant group, a judicial source told Reuters earlier on Wednesday. "The accused was put under formal investigation for alleged attempted murder of public servicemen...in connection with a terrorist venture and criminal terrorist conspiracy...with a view to prepare crime," the judicial source said on Friday. The source added that Hamahmy was still in hospital. (Reporting by Chine Labbe; Writing by Maya Nikolaeva; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)