• French police in the Gare du Nord train station in Paris after several people were wounded by a man wielding a knife. AFP
    French police in the Gare du Nord train station in Paris after several people were wounded by a man wielding a knife. AFP
  • French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, third left, arrives at Gare du Nord train station. AFP
    French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, third left, arrives at Gare du Nord train station. AFP
  • French police secure the area. Reuters
    French police secure the area. Reuters
  • The man was arrested by at the station after police opened fire and wounded him. AFP
    The man was arrested by at the station after police opened fire and wounded him. AFP
  • The station provides services to London and northern Europe. AP
    The station provides services to London and northern Europe. AP

Gare du Nord: Knife attack at Paris station leaves six wounded


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Six people including a police officer were wounded in a knife attack at a Paris railway station early on Wednesday.

The suspect attacked people near the entrance of the Gare du Nord before he was shot and critically injured by police, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said.

The motive for the attack was not immediately clear.

The six victims included a border guard and another was "more seriously" hurt than the others, Mr Darmanin said. The suspect was in hospital "between life and death".

The attack took place at 6.42am at one of Europe's busiest railway hubs, where trains depart to London, Brussels and on French commuter routes.

Some of the police who stopped the attack were in plain clothes and returning home from a night shift, but still carrying their weapons, Mr Darmanin said.

Prosecutors were working to establish the attacker's identity.

Inbound and outbound trains were affected and the station is now operating as normal, according to the rail network for northern France.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo was also on the scene as police huddled in the station.

Police cordoned off part of the Gare du Nord following the attack. AFP
Police cordoned off part of the Gare du Nord following the attack. AFP

It comes weeks after three people were killed by a gunman not far from the railway station.

William Malet killed three Kurds in what is suspected to be a racially-motivated attack in the French capital on December 23.

Prosecutors said Mr Malet planned to "assassinate migrants" and then commit suicide.

Authorities have since stepped up security at Kurdish community centres across the country.

France has been on high alert since a string of Islamist terror attacks in 2015 and 2016, including in the capital.

One hundred and thirty people died in co-ordinated attacks across Paris in November 2015. The targets included the Stade de France, a concert hall and diners on outdoor terraces.

In December, eight people were found guilty of involvement in a 2016 lorry rampage that killed 86 in the southern city of Nice on Bastille Day.

Updated: January 11, 2023, 3:34 PM