PREVENTABLE?

Priest’s Killer Freed from Jail Despite Threat to Attack Church

Was awaiting trial.

The man who slashed the throat of a Catholic priest in Normandy, France on Tuesday, identified as Adel Kermiche, 19, was previously freed from jail despite his attempts to join militants in Syria. Kermiche and another attacker killed Father Jacques Hamel, 86, after forcing him to his knees. Both attackers were killed by police. French President François Hollande had meetings on Wednesday to discuss how Kermiche was allowed to be released from detainment after he tried to reach Syria to join ISIS twice. He was awaiting trial. Classmates say Kermiche was a “buffoon” and “easily influenced.” One teen who knew the 19-year-old said he wasn’t surprised to hear about his involvement in the church attack. “He talked about it all the time. He talked about Islam, the things like this he was going to do. He talked about the Quran and Mecca and he told me ‘I’m going to attack a church.’ He said this two months ago on leaving the mosque. On my mother’s life, I didn’t believe him.”