German tourist killed and British man among two injured in Paris attack

A British man was among two people injured in a suspected terror attack on a central street in Paris which left one tourist dead.

The knife and hammer attack happened near the Eiffel Tower just before 9pm local time on Saturday, according to French police.

A 26-year-old French citizen was arrested after shouting “Allahu Akbar” as he stabbed and killed a German citizen and injured two others, France’s Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said.

The victim, born in 1997, was with his wife when he was attacked and fatally stabbed on Quai de Grenelle. His wife’s life was saved by the intervention of a taxi driver, Mr Darmanin said.

The suspect then fled across a nearby bridge and attacked two more people, hitting one in the eye with a hammer. He was then tasered by police and arrested on suspicion of assassination.

A forensic team investigate the scene following a knife attack in Paris, France

(EPA)

On Sunday, the Foreign Office confirmed one of the two people injured in the attack was a British man. A 60-year-old French citizen was also injured, police said.

A spokesperson told The Independent: “We are supporting a British man who was injured in Paris and are in contact with the local authorities.”

Mr Darmanin said the alleged attacker was heard shouting “Allahu Akbar”, Arabic for “God is greatest”, and told police he was upset because “so many Muslims are dying in Afghanistan and in Palestine”.

He added that the suspect served four years in jail after being convicted for planning another attack in 2016 and was on the French security services watchlist.

French president Emmanuel Macron said his thoughts were with the family of the German citizen and thanked emergency services.

“I send all my condolences to the family and loved ones of the German national who died this evening during the terrorist attack in Paris and think with emotion of the people currently injured and in care,” Mr Macron wrote on X

“My most sincere thanks to the emergency forces who made it possible to quickly arrest a suspect. The national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office now seized will be responsible for shedding light on this matter so that justice can be done in the name of the French people.”

Source link