A man has been shot by police outside the cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris after he tried to attack an officer using a hammer, police say.
The suspect has been wounded in the chest, French media report. Officials say this is a “terrorist incident”.
Some 900 people are still inside the cathedral. Pictures on social media show some holding their hands up.
France is in a state of emergency since attacks by jihadists in Paris left 130 people dead in 2015.
The area around the cathedral has been closed. People have been asked to stay away. Eyewitnesses said tourists fled for cover.
“I was about to come inside [the cathedral] and heard the noise, the gunshots, turned around and saw the assailant on the ground where they had shot him,” said Kellyn Gorman, an American tourist.
“It was very safe, very quickly contained.”
The Notre-Dame is one of the most visited tourist sites in Paris. Last year, police foiled an attack near the site.
The incident comes just three days after extremists used a van and knives in an attack in London which left seven dead.
Source : BBC News
-Agencies
