Paris Fugitive Seemed 'Extremely Angry' After Attacks

ByEMILY SHAPIRO ABCNews logo
Saturday, November 21, 2015

The fugitive wanted in connection with the Paris attacks appeared "extremely angry" the morning after the massacre, according to one of his friends who allegedly drove him from Paris to Brussels.



The morning after the six-part attack in Paris that left 130 people dead, one of the suspected attackers, Salah Abdeslam, was picked up by friends Hamza Attou and Mohammed Amri and driven to Brussels, said Attou's attorney, Carine Couquelet.



It was about 5 or 6 a.m. when Abdeslam called Attou and Amri from Paris, asking for help, Couquelet told ABC News in a phone interview. Abdeslam was apparently alone, waiting for his friends on a street, Couquelet said.



Attou described Abdeslam as appearing "extremely angry" during the trip, Couquelet told ABC News.



"My client didn't tell me about any weapons but mentioned Salah was wearing a big jacket, maybe with a suicide belt," Couquelet said.



The group was pulled over in traffic stops by French police officers three times for identity checks, during which Abdeslam was "very calm," said Couquelet.



French authorities have acknowledged that the car Abdeslam was travelling in after the attack was stopped, but he was not detained.



Couquelet said her client was "very afraid" once he realized "something was up."



Attou and Amri dropped Abdeslam off in Laeken, in the Brussels region, Couquelet said, adding that Attou and Amri have not heard from the fugitive since.



Attou and Amri were later detained and indicted on terrorism charges.



Police have issued an international arrest warrant for Abdeslam, 26, who authorities said fled the scene in Paris and returned to his hometown in the Brussels area the morning after the shooting. He is described as armed and dangerous.



Two of Abdeslam's other friends, who spoke to ABC News on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, said Abdeslam called them Tuesday evening and said he was in hiding in the Brussels area but was desperately trying to get to ISIS territory in Syria.



Abdeslam's brother, Mohamed, who has publicly urged his brother to turn himself in to police, said Friday from his apartment in Brussels, "I believe he is not far away."



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