THE MYTH OF MERAH

Two conflicting views of Merah are emerging.

The first is the violent Islamic extremist, training in al Qaeda camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan, on the US no-fly list, kidnapping kids and showing them al Qaeda videos of executions and beheadings, and walking around brandishing a sword shouting "al Qaeda! al Qaeda!"

The second is the fun-loving petty criminal into cars and girls.

So which is the truth?

Can these views be reconciled?

But there are also conflicting reports of who actually did the shootings.

One witness in Montauban said the visor on the gunman’s helmet briefly flipped up, revealing an extensive tattoo and a scar on his left cheek. She described him as being solidly built and of medium height.
[source : Gunman kills four at Jewish school in Toulouse, France,WSWS,20/03/2012]

Their description matches an eyewitness report of a facial tattoo... The same scooter, a Yamaha T-Max, was used by the shooter in both cases. Its license plate was recorded on video surveillance tapes from the town of Montauban. The same .45 caliber gun was also used on both days... A witness in Toulouse said the gunman had a facial tattoo.
[source : Le Point: Police Believe Disgraced Neo-Nazi Soldier Committed Murders, Jewish Press, 20/03/2012]

One witness, who described the killer as "of average height and quite fat", told French broadcaster RTL his helmet visor had been raised and she had seen his eyes and a tattoo or scar on his face.
[source : Shootings in Toulouse and Montauban: What we know, BBC, 22/03/2012]

Quite fat?

Facial scar or tattoo?

Is that Merah?

This is a still from a video of Merah allegedly joyriding.


Not fat.

No facial scar or tattoo.

Note that the licence plate of the scooter was also recorded.

It is entirely possible that Merah did the other shootings, but not the Montauban shooting.