A KNIFEMAN has been shot dead close to the Eurostar hub in Paris today after he threatened a policeman.
The attacker reportedly approached the cop as he was standing guarding his colleague’s bikes while two other officers attended a nearby domestic incident earlier on Sunday.
The knifeman reportedly threatened the officer and drew a blade – prompting the cop to shoot him three times just before midday in Paris, France.
He was killed in Rue Boinod, in the 18th district of Paris, which is about a mile from the Gare du Nord.
It follows a series of terrorist incidents across France in which radicalised young men have attacked cops with knives and other weapons.
However, police sources have said early investigations into today’s shooting have not uncovered any evidence of terrorism.
A source said: “The officer was standing by the mountain bikes while two of his colleagues attended a domestic incident in a nearby building.
“A man began threatening the policeman, and then approached him with a knife, while ignoring warnings.
“The officer said he had no option but to open fire with his service pistol, and the knifeman was hit three times before dying on the spot.”
Paris prosecutors had visited the scene by early afternoon, together with investigators from the Judicial Police.
“Investigations are being entrusted to the IPGN,” said a police spokesman, referring to the General Inspectorate of the National Police in France.
“The exact circumstances of what happened have yet to be established,” said the spokesman, who said the death took place in Rue Boinod, in the 18th district of Paris.
It is close to the main railway lines from which high speed trains travel to and from cities including London.
Yoann Maras, of the Alliance police union, said it was unlikely to be a terrorist attack, and more likely an incident involving a “disturbed person”.
France remains on high alert following six years of savage terror attacks – including the beheading of schoolteacher Samuel Paty by a Russian-born terrorist last October.
Also in October last year, a knifeman beheaded a victim in Notre-Dame de Nice and killed two others – which came amid outrage over Emmanuel Macron’s crackdown on “Islamic Separatism”.
And before that, four people were wounded after a man stabbed them outside the former headquarters of Charlie Hebdo.
There have been frequent knife attacks on the forces of law and order, leading to the deaths of serving police – including a car ramming attack on two officers last April in Colombes.
sunit
