TERROR IN PARIS – AT 11:09 P.M. ET:  The terror attack in Paris today is now being attributed, in press reports, to an Islamic extremist.  I am so shocked.  From Reuters: 

PARIS - An assailant shouting "Allah Akbar" killed a passer-by in a knife attack that also wounded four others in the heart of Paris late on Saturday before he was shot dead by police, French authorities said.

French prosecutor Francois Molins told reporters the police's anti-terrorism unit would launch an investigation, given the aggressor's "mode of operation."

French President Emmanuel Macron praised officers for "neutralizing the terrorist." France "will not yield an inch to the enemies of freedom," Macron said on Twitter.

The country has been on high alert amid a series of attacks, commissioned or inspired by the Islamic State militant group, over the past three years that has killed dozens of people.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for Saturday's attack in post via its Amaq news agency, but provided no proof for its claim.

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb called it an "odious" attack. It took place in the heart of the French capital in an district renowned for the Paris opera and many landmark retail stories.

COMMENT:  This will, of course, be a one-day story, as we don't want to upset the terror community, with its understandable sensitivities and legitimate grievances.

But the incident reminds us that terror can be committed without guns or explosives.  Knives are now becoming a weapon of choice in homicides in London.  Apparently we must add Paris to the list. 

We don't yet know what affiliations, if any, the Paris knifer had.  But please don't be misled by the term "lone wolf," if it is employed by the press.  There is no such thing as a lone wolf.   A terrorist is radicalized by someone, even if it's an online messenger.  And that someone is usually part of a movement.

May 12, 2018