Investigation underway in Paris
attack
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| French police officers enter a building during a police operation in Pris.- AFP |
French authorities have opened an investigation on suspicion
of attempted murder after a man injured seven people in a knife attack in
central Paris late Sunday.
By Linda Bordoni
A group of brave petanque players - the French version of
bowls or bowling – managed to distract and disturb the young knifeman by
hurling their heavy balls at him as he roamed randomly stabbing people on
Saturday night.
Officials said four of the seven victims are in serious
condition. The attacker has been arrested.
Speaking on condition of anonymity a judicial official said
the knifeman is believed to be an Afghan national. He also said terrorist
motives were not suspected at this stage of the investigation, but the
antiterrorism prosecutor’s office is following the investigation closely.
Paris police said the man was armed with a knife and a metal
bar, and first attacked four people outside a cinema in the 19th district of
Paris, crowded on a summer evening with Parisians and tourists relaxing or
practicing leisure activities like a game of petanque.
They said a witness at the scene hit the attacker with a
petanque ball. He then fled into a nearby street where he injured three other
people, before being overpowered and disarmed.
While the motives for the attack remain unclear, officials
are on high alert as Paris has suffered a number of militant attacks since
November 2015, when a series of coordinated strikes by Islamist gunmen and
suicide bombers linked to the so-called Islamic State killed 129 people.
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