Five Members of One Family, Including Four Children, Killed in ‘Hammer and Knife’ Attack in Paris Suburb

Five members of one family, including four children, have been killed and five others injured after a relative committed a hammer and knife attack in a Parisian suburb. French media reports the incident occurred following a family dispute.

The attack happened on Saturday morning in the commune of Noisy-le-Sec in the Seine-Saint-Denis suburb, according to French television broadcaster BFM.

One of the survivors, a youth, reportedly walked into a bar covered in blood and asking for help. He told the bar manager his uncle had “gone mad” and attacked the rest of his family “with a knife and a hammer”.

When police arrived at the house at around 11 am, they were forced to bust through the door with a battering ram, where they found two dead victims and multiple others injured, all believed to be of the same family. Three others died an hour and a half later despite the efforts of emergency services. The fatalities were reportedly one woman and four children.

Police also found five survivors who were injured, some unconscious. All survivors were taken to hospital, with three adults believed to be in serious condition. The other two surviving victims were adolescents who were not as seriously injured, according to franceinfo.

They also found the alleged perpetrator, the uncle, unconscious with the suspected murder weapons beside him. He was taken to a hospital in Clichy where he is receiving treatment.

“The scene was horrible,” one officer told BFM. “Several of us are in shock.”

Multiple media reports that the family, including the suspected attacker, the uncle, were identified as being of Sri Lankan or Pakistani origin. Police told the broadcaster that the initial investigation points to the attack being the result of a family dispute.