Riot police inside Orly airport after the resumption of flights. The gunman who attacked soldiers at Orly airport in Paris on Saturday had earlier told his father he had "screwed up" and wanted forgiveness. Ziyed Ben Belgacem, 39, was killed after he put a gun to a soldier's head saying he wanted to "die for Allah". Earlier on Saturday, he was involved in a shooting and then a carjacking. His father told French radio that his son had phoned after the first attack to say he had "screwed up with a gendarme", before proceeding to Orly.
Belgacem is described as having been radicalised in prison, and was on a police watch-list. His criminal record included convictions for armed robbery and drugs offences, Paris prosecutor Francois Molins told reporters late on Saturday.
Intelligence agents searched his home in Garges-les-Gonesse, north of Paris, for evidence of Islamist sympathies, but reportedly found nothing. However, traces of cocaine were discovered during the search. Early on Saturday morning, Belgacem was stopped at a checkpoint in Garges-les-Gonesse, north of Paris.
He fired at police with a pellet gun before escaping in a car that was later found abandoned. Police say he then stole a car at gunpoint from a woman at Vitry, south of Paris. That car was later found at Orly airport. Belgacem arrived at the airport and attacked a military patrol in the south terminal.
He tried to seize a servicewoman's automatic weapon, put his gun to her head and said: "I'm here to die for Allah. In any case people are going to die. A copy of the Koran was found on his body, Mr Molins added.
