Paris Attacks Suspect Was Stopped, Released: Source
By Danielle Abreu ••
The subject of an international manhunt, believed to be directly involved in Friday's massacre in Paris was questioned by police and released hours after the attack, four French officials told The Associated Press.
Salah Abdeslam, a 26-year-old man born in Brussels, was pulled over by police on the Belgium border hours after authorities had identified him as the renter of a black Volkswagen Polo, which was allegedly used and abandoned by the hostage-takers who killed 89 people inside a Paris concert hall.
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Abdeslam is on the run and allegedly the brother of a suspect currently in custody and being questioned, as well as one of the deceased attackers, NBC News reported.
Three separate teams of terrorists armed with Kalashnikovs and identical explosives vests laid coordinated siege to Paris at six locations in the French capital — which struck a soccer stadium, a crowded concert hall and busy restaurants — killing 129 people and wounding at least 350 others, 99 seriously.
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People gather outside of Notre Dame Cathedral ahead of a ceremony for the victims of Friday's terrorist attacks, November 15, 2015 in Paris, France.
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Women comfort each other as they stand in front of the Carillon cafe, in Paris, Nov.14, 2015. French President Francois Hollande vowed to attack Islamic State without mercy as the jihadist group admitted responsibility Saturday for orchestrating the deadliest attacks inflicted on France since World War II.
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French soldiers patrol at the Eiffel Tower, which remained closed on the first of three days of national mourning in Paris, Nov. 15, 2015.
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A man displays the French flag in front of the Bataclan concert hall in Paris, Nov. 17, 2015. France is demanding security aid and assistance from the European Union in the wake of the Paris attacks and has triggered a never-before-used article in the EU's treaties to secure it.
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Special intervention forces climb on top of a roof as they prepare to enter a house in Brussels on Nov. 16, 2015.
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A man holds his head in his hands as he lays flowers in front of the Carillon cafe, in Paris, Nov.14, 2015.
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French President Francois Hollande, center, flanked by French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, right, and French Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, center left, stands among students during a minute of silence in the courtyard of the Sorbonne University in Paris, Nov. 16 2015.
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Friends reunite in memory of a victim near 'Le Bataclan' theatre on Boulevard Voltaire following Fridays terrorist attack, November 15, 2015 in Paris, France.
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People light candles at the cafe 'La Belle Equipe,' Rue de Charonne, in Paris on Nov. 14, 2015, following a series of coordinated attacks in and around Paris late on Nov. 13.
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Secretary of State John Kerry, left, wipes his eye after a meeting with with French President Francois Hollande in Paris, France, Nov. 17, 2015. President Barack Obama, in a statement on Nov. 13, 2015, said the U.S. is prepared to provide whatever assistance France needs in the wake of terrorist attacks in Paris.
Martin Stevenson
A rose in a window at La Belle Equipe hangs in a bullet hole with a card that reads "In the name of what?"
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Soldiers patrol in front of the Arc De Triomphe on Nov. 14, 2015 in Paris, France after at least 130 people were killed and over 200 injured following a series of terrorist attacks in the French capital.
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(L-R) French Prime Minister Manuel Valls and French President Francois Hollande attend an emergency meeting at the Interior Minister on Nov. 13, 2015, after several attacks in Paris.
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A woman being evacuated from the Bataclan theater after a shooting in Paris Nov. 13, 2015.
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Hundreds of people spilled onto the field of the Stade de France stadium after explosions were heard nearby during a soccer match between the French and German national soccer teams.
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A French soccer supporter reacts at the Stade de France after explosions were heard nearby.
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Investigating police officers work outside the Stade de France stadium after an international friendly soccer match France against Germany, in Saint Denis, outside Paris, Nov. 13, 2015.
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Tributes are displayed on the Place de la République in Paris, France on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015.
French officials were working with authorities in Belgium, Spain and Serbia in an attempt to shed more light on the attack, which ISIS claimed responsibility for and which French President Francois Hollande described as an "act of war."
