Four officers have been killed after a knife attack inside
Paris police headquarters, French media reports.
The man behind the attack has also been killed, and is believed to be a member of staff at the headquarters, a police source told Reuters.
According to French news channel BFM TV, the attacker was armed with a ceramic knife that could have bypassed metal detectors.
Loic Travers, local head of the Alliance police union, said the incident happened around 1pm on Thursday at the headquarters, which are located just across the street from Notre Dame Cathedral.
There was no word on any motive but the employee allegedly responsible for the violence apparently never posed any problems before.La préfecture de police est située sur l'Île de la Cité en plein cœur de Paris, à l'ouest de Notre-Dame #AFPpic.twitter.com/QwBaZBM9aA— Agence France-Presse (@afpfr) October 3, 2019A spokesman for Paris police said he had no comment.Footage from the scene posted on social media showed police initiating a large cordon and ushering people away from the scene.
The Metro station near where the attack occurred has been closed.#Attaque au couteau à la @prefpolice des gens sont évacués du bâtiment. Quartier bouclé @BFMTV@BFMParispic.twitter.com/OmUCbwqY2Z— Barthelemy Bolo (@B2Bolo) October 3, 2019It was not immediately clear how far inside the building the assailant got before police shot him.
French media say the country’s interior minister and the Paris prosecutor were on their way to the scene.URGENT - Attaque au couteau à la préfecture de police à Paris sur des policiers. Plusieurs victimes, l’assaillant abattu. Important dispositif en train de se mettre en place. pic.twitter.com/cwCQCej7vR— Remy Buisine (@RemyBuisine) October 3, 2019This is a breaking news story and will be updated. Follow HuffPost
UK on Twitter here, and on Facebook here.