At least six people were injured in an unprovoked attack by a suspect carrying a “blade weapon” at the busy Gare du Nord train station in Paris on Wednesday.
At least one police officer was attacked along with five civilians before shots were heard during the morning rush hour and the suspect was taken into custody.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the suspect was “between life and death” in a hospital after authorities shot him in the chest.
French police stand guard in a cordoned off area at the Gare du Nord train station in Paris, after several people were slightly injured by a man wielding a knife on January 11, 2023.
(JULIEN DE ROSA/AFP via Getty Images)
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Darmanin said the suspect was “neutralized” a minute after the first attack and thanked the police officers involved “for their effective and courageous reaction.”
“Without the extremely rapid intervention, there would surely be deaths,” he added.
The interior minister, joined by Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo, said the first victim was attacked at 6:42 a.m. and that by 6:43 a.m. police officers had “used their administrative weapon.”[s].”
It is unclear how many shots were fired and whether the unidentified suspect was fired more than once.
The French Minister of the Interior, Gerald Darmanin (C), speaks to the press together with the Junior Minister of Transport, Clement Beaune (L), the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo (4L) and the Prefect of the Paris Police, Laurent Nunez (2L) at the Gare du Nord train station in Paris. after several people were injured.
(JULIEN DE ROSA/AFP via Getty Images)
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Darmanin told reporters that the weapon used by the suspect “was not a knife” but appeared to be a homemade device.
French media reported that the suspect first threw himself on a man at the entrance to the train station before stabbing the initial victim 15 times.
The suspect then attacked four civilians inside the train station along with a French border guard police officer, who was not seriously injured due to the protection of a bulletproof vest.
Two other officers were alerted to the attacks after screams were heard as the police officer was being attacked.
Details about how the suspect was “neutralized” have not been released.
The man attacked outside the train station is the only victim to have sustained serious injuries from the morning’s assault.
French police cordoned off an area at the Gare du Nord train station in Paris, after a suspect wielding a knife injured six people, including a police officer, at the Gare du Nord train station in Paris on 11 February. January 2023.
(JULIEN DE ROSA/AFP via Getty Images)
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French authorities are investigating whether the actions amount to attempted murder charges.
French authorities said the suspect did not say anything during the attack and they do not believe he had any connection to extremist groups.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
