Lyon: No claim of responsibility has so far been made for a bomb attack in Lyon Friday which injured 13 people, French anti-terrorism prosecutor Remy Heitz said Saturday.
Heitz added that the man thought to have planted the device, who was spotted on CCTV footage, was on the run.
Police investigators said they have not been able to identify the suspect as he was wearing sunglasses and a cap.
French police were Saturday pulling out all the stops to locate a suspect following the blast.
“All means have been activated to identify and detain the person who committed this act,” Paris prosecutor Remy Heitz told media in Lyon, the third-biggest French city.
The blast occurred just two days ahead of hotly contested European Parliament elections and with France on watch for any repeat of recent deadly terrorist attacks which have rocked the country.
Heitz has taken charge of the investigation into “attempted murder in relation with a terrorist enterprise and association with terrorist criminals.”
- French Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet said it was too soon to say whether the blast could be termed a “terrorist act”
- President Emmanuel Macron initially called the explosion an “attack” but later took a more cautious tone with a tweet that condemned “the violence that has struck” the city’s residents
Police issued an appeal for witnesses on Twitter as they sought a man – described as “dangerous” – who was believed to be in his early 30s and who was picked up by security cameras riding an all-terrain bicycle immediately before the explosion.
An image of the suspect, wearing light-coloured shorts and a long-sleeved dark top, was posted. His face was partially covered by a khaki cap and sunglasses.