Driver in Paris attack killed
Print Edition
A man rammed his car into a police vehicle in Paris’ Champs-Elysees shopping district yesterday, prompting a fiery explosion, and was killed in the incident, authorities said. France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor opened an investigation.
No police officers or passers-by were hurt, the Paris police department said. It is unclear why the attacker drove into police, though the Interior Ministry spokesman said the incident was apparently deliberate.
Two police officials told reporters that a handgun was found on the driver, who they said was badly burned after the vehicle exploded. The incident was the second this year on the city’s most famous avenue.
An attacker defending the Islamic State group shot and killed a police officer on the Champs-Elysees in April, days before a presidential election, prompting an extensive security operation.
France is under a state of emergency after a string of deadly Islamic extremist attacks.
Police cordoned off a broad swath of the avenue that cuts through central Paris, warning people to avoid the area. Bomb squads were combing the area and the nearest subway station was closed to the public.
Eric Favereau, a journalist for the Liberation newspaper who was driving a scooter behind the police, said he saw a car blocking the convoy’s path, then an implosion in the vehicle. Favereau wrote that the police smashed open the windows of the car while it was in flames and dragged out its occupant. Other officers used fire extinguishers to put out the flames.
A man could be seen lying on his stomach on the ground immediately after the incident, dressed in a white shirt and dark shorts.
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