In the media
October 20, 2023
On Friday 20th of October 2023, Thomas Renard was interviewed by Le Vif, a French language Belgian weekly news magazine, on why Abdessalem Lassoued took action and the lack of preparation for the post-attack.
Thomas commented “It looks like the perpetrator of the attack had not planned what happened afterwards,” as he had no hideout to take refuge in, and had not planned any further attacks. He analyses that this lack of post-attack preparation "suggest that the individual acted as a lone wolf,” as acting alone means a higher risk of committing mistakes.
Commenting on the nature of the terrorist attack, he describes the attacker as a homegrown terrorist. “The radicalization of Abdessalem Lassoued took place in Europe, undoubtedly via the online propaganda of the Islamic State.” He concludes by adding “It has become more difficult to anticipate this type of attack”.
Read the full interview (in French):
