Andrew Dubois

Staff Writer

   On March 19th, a gunman on a motorcycle, now identified as Mohamed Merahon, rode by the Ozar Hatorah Jewish school and opened fire.  Two days after the tragic events, the gunman was tracked to an apartment building and eventually killed in a standoff with police.

    Just a few days before the shooting at the school, three French soldiers were murdered while in uniform as they tried to withdraw money from an ATM close to their barracks.  Because this incident was similar to the drive by shooting at the school, French prosecutors believe the two events may be related. Elhanan Drei, an employee at the school, told Israel Radio, “A man came on a motorcycle and started shooting at people who came to pray in the synagogue and to school.”

    French President Nicolas Sarkozy said in a statement, “Barbarity, savagery and cruelty cannot win, hate cannot win. The republic is much stronger than all this. Our schools must keep functioning, our compatriots that want to worship at synagogues, mosques and churches must be able to continue to do so.”

    However, some observers question whether the current president and his opponents in the upcoming presidential election are partially to blame for the violence because of the anti-immigrant rhetoric which has been a major talking point for the campaigns. 

    According to France’s Interior Minister, Merahon claimed he wanted revenge “for the Palestinian children” and also wanted to attack the French army because of their foreign intervention in Afghanistan. Merahon also claimed to be linked to Al-Qaeda.