Knife-wielding man at Paris train station shot dead by police

The man attacked police officers on patrol at Gare du Nord station early on Monday morning.

Police in the French capital have killed a man who allegedly attacked them with a knife at Paris’s Gare du Nord station.

The incident took place at about 7am (06:00 GMT) on Monday at the terminus for trains from London.

“The person who attacked them died on the spot,” Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari told RMC radio, adding that two police officers received minor injuries.

“The police used their firearms, thus eliminating all danger, both for themselves and for travellers,” Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin wrote in a tweet.

A France Television journalist at the railway station at the time posted a video of the incident on social media, in which two gunshots can be heard.

“It was an individual known to the police as someone who wandered around in the station,” Djebbari added. “He appears to have attacked the police with a knife, forcing them to use their weapon.”

Gare du Nord is one of Europe’s biggest railway stations and home to international train services connecting to the United Kingdom and Belgium.

Djebarri said the incident had caused major traffic disruptions on Monday morning. He added that the incident was not thought to be terrorism-related.

Worries over violent crime and terrorism are among key concerns for French voters ahead of the presidential election in April.