Terrorized School: Last year a rabbi and three students were gunned down at a Jewish school in Toulouse. Now, a man suspected of threatening the school recently has been arrested. Image by getty images

French police have arrested a young man suspected of making death threats against staff of a Jewish school in Toulouse.

The unnamed 20-year-old was arrested over the weekend near Vesoul, a city in eastern France, for allegedly threatening last week to kill people at the school where the Islamist extremist Mohammed Merah last year gunned down a rabbi and three children.

According to SPCJ, the French Jewish community’s security service, the arrested man called the school’s secretary on Sept. 16 and said: “I am Mohammed Merah’s cousin and I’m coming over tonight to kill you.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis of the crisis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The suspect is a French national of Moroccan origin, according to Reuters, and was living with his mother. The report did not say whether he is in fact related to Merah.

He will be brought for arraignment at Vesoul near Strasbourg on Monday, Reuters reported. According to SPCJ, police have arrested several callers who threatened violence against the school after the shooting.

French police believe Mohammed Merah planned the shooting with his older brother, Abelkader Merah, who is currently in prison. Mohammed Merah was killed in a shootout with police on March 22, three days after the school shooting.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount