Authorities in southern France arrested an individual under the suspicion of committing an arson attack against a Jewish house of worship in La Grande-Motte.
The country’s interior ministry revealed in a statement on X that law enforcement officials apprehended the suspect after a brief gunfight in Nimes, hours after he allegedly set fire to the Beth Yaacov synagogue on Saturday morning.
Firefighters who were responding to reports of two burning cars in the area called the police after finding additional fires at the synagogue's entrances. The request for service resulted in one of the responders being injured when a propane tank near one of the vehicles exploded.
Prosecutors are reportedly treating the incursion as a potential terrorist act, as the culprit was seen on surveillance cameras fleeing the scene holding a weapon and a Palestinian flag.
The four congregants and the rabbi who were present in the synagogue during the disturbance were unharmed, as the perpetrator was unable to access the building.
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