Attack at Paris airport fueled by drugs, alcohol

Prosecutors in Paris say the man who attacked a soldier outside Orly Airport this weekend spent the hours before the incident drinking and doing drugs. An autopsy found Ziyed Ben Belgacem, 39, had consumed cannabis and cocaine, as well as alcohol, before he overpowered a female soldier and stole her weapon early Saturday morning. Before he could fire into the crowd of travelers, several other soldiers shot and killed him. Although French officials suspected Belgacem of becoming radicalized during a prison stint in 2011 and 2012, his father told a local radio station Belgacem was not a terrorist: “He never attended prayer. He drank. But under the effects of alcohol and cannabis, this is where one ends up.” Belgacem was not on any terror watch lists, although police did search his apartment after the 2015 attacks that killed 130 people in Paris. At the airport, Belgacem reportedly said he was there “to die for Allah.” Before trying to steal the soldier’s weapon, Belgacem fired bird shot at a police officer, lightly wounding him in the face, and stole a woman’s car at gunpoint.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.