Overview
- A lieutenant of the Saudi royal guard, who also served as a bodyguard to the Saudi ambassador, was attacked on the night of Sunday to Monday when an assailant tried to strangle him then showed a handgun and stole a Cartier watch and a gold chain.
- The victim was not physically injured and managed to note the assailant's vehicle plate number, which police used to trace the car through the national vehicle-registration (SIV) system.
- Investigators linked the vehicle owner to a phone number in Interior Ministry files, geolocated the number, and police from the brigade anticriminalité intercepted and arrested the suspect in Carrières-sur-Seine in the Yvelines.
- The Parquet de Paris opened an inquiry for robbery with a weapon and illegal possession of a category B firearm, the suspect born in 1986 was placed in custody, and the 1er district de police judiciaire is handling the investigation while the vehicle is being searched.
- The timing of the attack, just hours before Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's meeting with President Emmanuel Macron, adds diplomatic sensitivity and leaves open possible follow-ups such as formal charges, forensic results from the vehicle search, and any security reviews for visiting delegations.