A knifeman who injured two police officers and stabbed three members of the public, killing one in a Paris suburb was shot by French police Friday afternoon.
The alleged killer was “neutralised” by firearm-carrying police officers in the southern Paris suburb of Villejuif around 1400 local time (0800 EST) Friday. Paris based newspaper Le Parisien reports the assailant attacked several people in a local park in assaults that were described to have taken place at random. French media subsequently reported that the suspect had indeed died of gunshot wounds.
Three people were stabbed during the incident, one of whom is reported to have died of their injuries. Police pursued the suspect through the park and exchanged gunfire with him, the paper claims. The man was “neutralised” by police during the chase, and two police officers were injured.
While the motivation for the attack is not yet known, Le Figaro reports a bomb disposal team has been deployed to the park, suggesting police may suspect the presence of explosives. RTL — formerly known as Radio Luxembourg — reports the “European” suspect wore a traditional Arabic garment known as a djellaba, had a bearded face, and shouted “Allahu akbar”, while noting police had not yet confirmed these details from witnesses.
The attack, which French media described as “random”, follows another in the Villejuif neighborhood in May 2019 when a man who was reported to shout “Allahu Akbar” as he struck attacked passers-by with a knife and iron bar. A man was arrested and the injuries were not fatal, FranceBleu reported at the time.
In 2017, police raided an apartment in Villejuif following a tip-off and uncovered a terrorist plot to bomb French banks. Officers found 3.5 ounces of TATP in the flat, a common explosive used in Jihadist attacks because of its power and comparative ease of production.