Parents of Paris suspect freed, no role seen ‘at this stage’

PARIS – The parents of a 20-year-old man who was fatally shot by police after he stabbed five people in Paris have been let go after more than two days in custody while counterterrorism investigators still are questioning a friend of the dead suspect.

Khamzat Azimov killed one person and wounded four others in Saturday night’s attack near the French capital’s old opera house. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility.

A judicial official said his parents were released Tuesday night “in the absence of elements incriminating them at this stage.”

The suspect’s friend, identified only as Abdul Hakim A., was being held for more questioning.

The official wasn’t authorized to speak publicly on the ongoing investigation.

Azimov, a French citizen, was born in Chechnya, a largely Muslim Russian republic.