”My son’s health has improved, he left the hospital, and has been taken by the police to an unknown location,” the father of the Louvre attacked told Daily News Egypt on Monday.
The Louvre attacker, identified as Abdullah Reda El-Hemami, has reportedly refused to speak to investigators on Sunday and remained silent during questioning. According to various international media outlets, El-Hamami was shot several times after allegedly attempting to attack French soldiers outside the Louvre museum in Paris on 3 February.
El-Hemami’s father explained that his son arrived to Paris on 26 January, and was sent there on a business trip by the company he worked for in the United Arab Emirates. El-Hemami was scheduled to leave France and return to Egypt on 4 February.
He added that he is kept up to date with what is happening by the head of the Egyptian community in Paris, Salah Farhoud, and French media outlets. He said that he is working with Farhoud to secure a lawyer for his son.
He defended his son by saying that his son was “unpleasantly questioned by police after leaving the museum, which resulted in a dispute that led to my son being shot.”
The father denied that his son was carrying any kind of weapon, as was reported by French media outlets and the police.
Following the attack several French media outlets said that the attacker was believed to be an Egyptian national. This was later confirmed by French authorities. The suspect’s father previously denied this, saying that his son does not belong to any Islamist group. The father also denied the notion that his son was an enemy to the French people.
Egypt’s parliament has spoken to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the situation, according to the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee member Tarek El-Khouly.
Daily News Egypt contacted El-Khouly, asking for more information on what had been discussed. However, he said there is, as of yet, no solid information on the matter. He added that the discussion is part of the committee’s job of following up on incidents involving Egyptian nationals abroad.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ahmed Abou Zeid also asserted in a televised phone call that all the information they currently have is that the attacker is Egyptian, adding that there is no build up of tensions with France and that Egypt is also dealing with terrorism.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry has condemned the attack.
French president Francois Hollande has said that there is little doubt that the attack was an act of terrorism.
French authorities have been looking into a number of El-Hemami’s social media posts, which seem to indicate that he supported the Islamic State.
