LIVE WIRE:
Twitter
French officials say a knifeman, possibly wearing an explosive vest, who attacked a Paris police station has been shot dead.
Police sources say the knifeman attempted to enter the building in the 18th Arrondissement in Paris just moments after a President Francois Hollande gave a press conference talking about increased security measures in the country.
Le Parisien reported that he was wearing an explosives vest. Pictures have emerged on Twitter (above) of a bomb disposal robot apparently being used to inspect the man’s body.
Local residents of the Rue de la Goutte d’Or in the 18th Arrondissement were instructed to close windows and stay away from their balconies.
Witnesses have suggested the knifeman, who was running towards the Paris police station when he was shot by policemen at around 12pm local time (11am UK time) had been shouting “Allah hu Akbar”.
Today is the year anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris, when Al Qaeda linked gunman stormed the offices of the satirical magazine and murdered 15 journalists because they has published depictions of Muhammed.
As many as 10,000 soldiers have been deployed across France in what is know as Operation Sentinelle. Authorities have been anticipating trouble and police were overwhelmed in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo shootings one year ago.
LIVE UPDATES BELOW (Newest First):
UPDATE – 12:44 GMT: President Hollande earlier addressed France’s security forces at Paris’ police headquarters telling them any attack on a policeman or fireman was not just a crime but “an attack on the Republic” perpetrators of which “will be mercilessly hunted down, caught and punished in the appropriate manner.”
UPDATE – 12:33 GMT:
UPDATE – 12:30 GMT (PICTURES):
UPDATE – 12:26 GMT: France 24 reports that while police officers report the man had “wires” extending from his chest, that they now believe the explosive vest was a “fake”.
No comments:
Post a Comment