07 June,2017 06:21 AM IST | Paris | Agencies
A man armed with a hammer shouted this is for Syria before attacking police officers on Tuesday outside France's Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, the interior minister said
French cops at the entrance to Notre-Dame cathedral. Pic/AFP
A man armed with a hammer shouted "this is for Syria" before attacking police officers on Tuesday outside France's Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, the interior minister said. The assailant wounded one officer before he was shot and wounded by other officers. The Paris prosecutor's office swiftly began a counter-terrorism investigation. Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said the attacker was carrying the identification card of an Algerian student.
He said preliminary information indicated the attacker had acted alone. "Situation under control, one policeman injured, the assailant was neutralised and taken to hospital," Paris police said on Twitter. Hundreds of tourists were inside the cathedral when the attacker struck. One holidaymaker inside Notre Dame posted on Twitter: "Not the holiday experience [I] wanted. Trapped in Notre Dame Cathedral after police shoot a man. We are with our 2 terrified children," said Karine Dalle, a spokeswoman for the Paris diocese.
900 Tourists inside the Notre Dame cathedral at the time of the incident
