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At least six people suffered injuries in an unprovoked knife attack at a train station in Paris, France, early Wednesday.
The suspect, an unidentified male, launched an attack at people at the Gare Du Nord central railway station at 6:45 a.m. local time (12:45 a.m. ET), a spokeswoman with the Paris police told CNN.
Gérald Darmanin, France’s Minister of the Interior and Overseas, took to Twitter shortly after and stated that the suspect was “quickly neutralized.”
“An individual injured several people this morning at the Gare du Nord. He was quickly neutralized. Thank you to the police for their effective and courageous response,” the tweet said, as per Google translate.
The attacker was stopped by several police officers, and a security agent working for the state-owned railroad system of France, the SNCF. They fired multiple shots at the attacker, eventually pinning him down. He was taken to hospital where he is receiving treatment for life-threatening injuries, Reuters reported.
Several passengers and a border police officer were among those injured in the attack. The assailant stabbed the officer in the back, but he was saved by his bulletproof vest, the French interior minister told AP. One of the victims suffered major injuries, a police spokesperson said.
A criminal investigation was launched into the suspect’s motive behind the attack, a Paris prosecutor said in a statement.
Trains were disrupted at Gare Du Nord – one of the busiest stations in Europe and a major link between Paris, London, and northern Europe – and nearby stations immediately after the incident. However, the situation was put under control hours later.
“We have been keeping an eye on this incident since a while ago and the station remains open and operating normally so far. The trains continue to run and the police have already intervened,” SNCF tweeted in response to a related query, as per Google translate.
The shooting comes weeks after a 69-year-old gunman opened fire on a group of people at a Kurdish cultural center in Paris on Dec. 23, leaving three dead. Shots were also fired at a hairdresser’s salon and a restaurant located on the street. Three people, one critically, were also injured in the incident. The suspect confessed to harboring a “pathological” hatred for foreigners and “wanted to kill” them after a robbery at his home in 2016.
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