Teenage Killer Paid Students to Identify French Teacher Before Beheading

French anti-terrorism prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard gives a news conference on the latest in the investigation over the murder of the French teacher Samuel Paty, who was beheaded on the streets of the Paris suburb of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, at the courthouse in Paris, France, Oct. 21, 2020. Charles Platiau/Reuters

PARIS—The Chechen teenager who beheaded a French teacher for showing caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad in class had paid students to identify him in front of the school, France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor said on Wednesday.

Jean-Francois Ricard told a news conference the killer knew the teacher’s name and location of his school after a parent launched a campaign against Samuel Paty on social media, but had no way of identifying him at the school gates.