Man attacks with knife at Arc de Triomphe, police shoot him dead

On Friday evening, a man attacked police officers with a knife under the Arc de Triomphe in central Paris and later died in hospital from gunshot wounds after being shot by police. The attacker was identified as Brahim Bahri, a French citizen born in 1978.

The incident took place during a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, when police officers were lighting a flame. Bahrir threatened members of the honor guard, one of whom suffered minor knife wounds. The attacker also had scissors with him.

The investigation has been taken over by the national prosecutor's office for combating terrorism. The authorities are investigating a possible terrorist motive and checking whether Bahrir belonged to a terrorist organization. President Emmanuel Macron described the incident on social media as an Islamist terrorist attack and praised the gendarmes for their decisive intervention.

Security forces considered Bahrir to be radicalized and placed him on a watch list. According to an AFP source, shortly before the attack, he called the police station near his home and said he was going to "carry out a massacre."

In Belgium, he was sentenced to 17 years for attempted murder, terrorism, and other acts following an attack on police officers in 2012. He was later transferred to France, but was released at the end of December. After his release from prison, he remained under judicial supervision.

(reuters, afp, dpa, lud)