Egyptian arrested over the Louvre terror attack remains silent as anti-terror police begin questioning him in Paris
- Officials believe suspect to be Egyptian national named Abdallah El-Hamahmy
- Police shot man five times in stomach after he lunged at them with machetes
- Investigators questioned suspect at hospital bed after his condition improved
- So far he's refused to answer any questions posed by French anti-terror police
The suspect, believed to be Egyptian national Abdallah El-Hamahmy, was shot in the stomach and seriously wounded on Friday
The man arrested over the Louvre terror attack is refusing to talk to anti-terror police as they begin questioning him in Paris.
The suspect, believed to be Egyptian national Abdallah El-Hamahmy, was shot in the stomach and seriously wounded after lunging at soldiers with two machetes on Friday.
The attack was the latest in a string of assaults in France and thrust the issue of security back into the headlines three months ahead of the presidential election.
Investigators decided to question him at his hospital bed after his condition improved, a source said.
The man 'is refusing to speak to investigators for now', but anti-terror police planned to question him again later this evening.
The suspect has been held at a Paris hospital since the attack near the museum on Friday morning.
Based on his phone and visa records, he is thought to be Abdallah El-Hamahmy, a 29-year-old Egyptian national living in the United Arab Emirates, who entered France legally on a flight from Dubai on January 26.
Investigators believe Hamahmy rented an expensive apartment near the Champs Elysees.
A grainy picture claims to show the immediate aftermath of yesterday's shooting, after a machete-wielding man attacked four soldiers outside the Louvre, which houses many of the world's most famous paintings, including the Mona Lisa
El Hamahmy had reportedly arrived in France from Dubai on January 26, and investigators believe he posted tweets voicing support for ISIS in the build-up to the attack
Investigators say the attacker, who was carrying two machetes and wearing a black T-shirt with a skull design, lunged at four soldiers shouting 'Allahu Akbar'.
President Francois Hollande said that 'there is little doubt as to the terrorist nature of this act'.
French investigators have contacted Egyptian officials in hopes of confirming the suspect's identity through DNA testing, a source close to the inquiry said.
They also plan to contact officials in the UAE and in Turkey, since Hamahmy's passport had two visas from Turkey, in 2015 and 2016.
The suspect is in a serious condition after being shot five times in the stomach following an attack on four soldiers yesterday morning
Police are also examining Hamahmy's Twitter account after around a dozen messages were posted in Arabic just minutes before the attack.
'In the name of Allah... for our brothers in Syria and fighters across the world,' he wrote, before referring to the Islamic State jihadist group in another tweet a minute later.
Speaking in Cairo on Saturday, a retired police general, Reda El-Hamahmy, said he believed the wounded suspect was his son, who had been in Paris on a business trip.
'He went on a company trip and when it was over visited the museum. He was supposed to leave on Saturday,' he said, saying his son was married and his pregnant wife was currently staying in Saudi Arabia with their seven-month-old son.
After being closed immediately after the attack, the museum reopened Saturday under a heavy presence of police and soldiers.
Police are examining Hamahmy's Twitter account after around a dozen messages were posted in Arabic just minutes before the attack at the Louvre (pictured)
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