A preschool teacher who claimed he was stabbed at a school north of Paris by a masked man invoking Islamic State admitted that he made the story up, the Paris Prosecutors office said Monday.
"He is being interviewed with a view to establishing the reasons for this invented story," an official said, according to Reuters.
Initially, the teacher had reported to authorities that while in Aubervillers, located north of Paris, a hooded man had attacked him with a knife-like weapon, while making a reference to the Islamic State: "That's for Daesh, this is a warning," he reportedly said, according to a local prosecutor.
The "victim," who was allegedly getting ready for class, was admitted to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. In the meantime authorities treated the attack as an act of terrorism, prompting them to launch a manhunt for the suspect using the "victim's" testimony as a basis, according to the Associated Press.
Sometime later he revealed that the entire report was a hoax, leaving authorities to determine not only why he made up the story but also the circumstances behind it.
The false report comes as France continues to recover from the Nov. 13 Paris attacks that left 130 people dead, reported ABC News. It also comes as after ISIS encouraged sympathizers to attack French teachers, since the secular education they provided was poisoning minds.
