A soldier patrols at the Gare du Nord train station on Wednesday after the attacker stabbed six people before being shot by police.
Michel Euler/AP
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A soldier patrols at the Gare du Nord train station on Wednesday after the attacker stabbed six people before being shot by police.
Michel Euler/AP
PARIS — An attacker wounded six people in an unprovoked knife attack at Paris’ busy Gare du Nord train station on Wednesday morning before being shot and wounded by police, the interior minister said. France said, praising the quick intervention of the police for helping to prevent any deaths.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told reporters at the scene that the suspect attacked several people, including a police officer, with a “bladed weapon” during the morning rush hour.
He said the unnamed attacker is now “between life and death” in hospital after being shot in the chest, according to French media. Darmanin thanked the police “for their courageous and effective response.”
“Without the extremely quick intervention, someone would surely die,” he said, detailing how the suspect was neutralized within a minute of attacking his first victim.
“At 6:42, the first acts were described. At 6:43, the police used administrative weapons after he overcame violence,” he said.
A police car is parked outside the Gare du Nord train station on Wednesday.
Michel Euler/AP
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A police car is parked outside the Gare du Nord train station on Wednesday.
Michel Euler/AP
Darmanin said the attacker’s weapon was “not a knife” but possibly a homemade weapon. He said the suspect is believed to have not said anything during the attack and that investigators had not discovered any extremist links.
According to the French press, the first suspect lunged at a man in front of the train station, stabbing him 15 times, leaving him severely injured. The attacker then entered the station and attacked four civilians and a police officer, the media reported.
The screams alarmed two other police officers, who intervened when the suspect attacked the police park. Mr. Darmanin said the French border guard officer was stabbed in the back but was not seriously injured because he was wearing a bulletproof vest.
Officials said the man who was stabbed outside the station was the only one seriously injured in the attack. Police have opened an investigation into whether the attack merits the assassination charge.
Visitors wait behind a police ribbon at the Gare du Nord train station on Wednesday.
Michel Euler/AP
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Visitors wait behind a police ribbon at the Gare du Nord train station on Wednesday.
Michel Euler/AP
Video footage of Gare du Nord, one of the French capital’s busiest train stations, shows an eerie quiet as dozens of police gather near the entrance to the Eurostar station in areas cordoned off from public spaces. they.
No specific motive has currently been suggested by the authorities. France is still worried after a series of deadly terrorist attacks since 2015.
According to the national railway company SNCF, the chaos also caused severe disruption to train services at the station – Europe’s busiest railway line – during the early morning rush hour.
