In the days before the attack , Lahouaiej-Bouhlel let his beard grow and told people " the meaning of this beard is religious . " French authorities stated that Lahouaiej-Bouhlel showed a passion for religion only recently ; " Mohamed only started visiting a mosque in April , " a witness stated . French investigator François Mulins stated " Bouhlel had expressed support for the Islamic State . " Molins also found that from 1 July , Lahouaiej-Bouhlel made more or less daily Internet searches for verses of the Koran and " nasheeds " &ndash; . He also researched the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr . Investigators found photos of dead bodies and images linked to radical Islamism on his computer , including the flag of the Islamic State , the cover of an issue of French satirical magazine '' Charlie Hebdo '' &ndash; which had been attacked by gunmen in January 2015 &ndash; and photos of Osama bin Laden and Algerian jihadist Mokhtar Belmokhtar . He also told friends he did not understand why IS could not hold territory and showed them a video of a beheading on his mobile phone . In response to their shock , he said he was " used to it " . In addition , he had searched the Internet for the terms " terrible mortal accidents " , " horrible mortal accidents " and " shocking video , not for sensitive souls " and consulted news articles on fatal accidents , including on 1 January 2016 an article or a photo from a local newspaper about a car incident with the caption : " He deliberately crashes onto the terrace of a restaurant "
attacked by gunmen in January 2015
Charlie Hebdo shooting
Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel