Paris, France (Wednesday, 07 June 2017, Gaudium Press) French police shot a man outside Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris on Tuesday after he tried to attack them with a hammer and shouted “This is for Syria” in a terror incident just two days after the London attacks.
French media said the man, who claimed to be an Algerian “student”, was also in possession of two kitchen knives and other unsophisticated weapons. One policeman, aged 22, was lightly injured in the neck.
Paris prosecutors have opened a counterterrorism inquiry.
French media cited a source close to the inquiry as saying the injured assailant claimed to be a “soldier of the Caliphate”, presumed to be a reference to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).
The terrorist group claimed responsibility for the weekend attack in London, where extremists used a van and knives to crush to death and kill seven people, one of them French.
Gérard Collomb, the interior minister, said: “We have gone from sophisticated terrorism to a terrorism where any tool can be used to carry out attacks.”
There were scenes of panic when two gunshots rang out at Notre-Dame, among the most visited landmarks of Paris, itself the most visited capital in the world, as hundreds of tourists were amassed outside its front entrance at around 4.30pm.
Seconds earlier, the unnamed attacker had swung his hammer at a police officer guarding the top tourist site, landing a blow. But before he could do any more damage, his colleague opened fire, hitting the assailant in the legs.
Journalist David Metreau, who said his office overlooks the square, tweeted that there were two “blasts” that sounded like shots, and posted a photo of a body lying seemingly inert on the ground.
Elite officers armed with automatic weapons and bullet-proof vests swiftly sealed off the main square to check for accomplices, but soon announced that the situation was “under control”.
Source The Telegraph
