At least four people have been killed in a knife attack inside the Paris police headquarters before the assailant was shot dead.
The stabbing at the headquarters, located just across the street from Notre Dame Cathedral, happened just after midday on Thursday.
The attacker was reportedly an employee who worked as an administrative officer of the Direction du Renseignement de la Préfecture de Police de Paris (DRPP), according to a source cited by Le Parisien.
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One witness told the publication: “I heard a shot, I think it was around 12:30. Around me there were only policemen. They immediately unsheathed their weapon. I was very surprised to hear these shots because this is not the place where we imagine that it can happen.
“I first thought of a suicide because there are many at the moment. And then a few moments later I saw policewomen in tears. I thought it must be serious. The police were in panic, running everywhere. Many people were crying.”
The motives of the attack are not yet known, though the attacker had worked at the headquarters for 20 years, according to union official Loic Travers.
The attacker reportedly used a ceramic knife and began the attack in an office before continuing elsewhere throughout the headquarters. The victims were two women and two men.
The roads around the compound on Ile de la Cité have been closed, while the Cité Metro station near the police headquarters has also been shut down for security reasons, the RATP transport operator said.
French prime minister Edouard Philippe and Minister of the Interior Christophe Castaner are at the scene, while President Emmanuel Macron is expected to arrive later.
The deadly attack came just one day after thousands of police protested in Paris against poor working conditions and the high suicide rate among serving officers.
