A man has been shot dead in Paris as he tried to attack a police station Thursday on the first anniversary of the Islamic extremist assault on the offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine.
An official with the interior ministry said the man had a knife and appeared to be wearing an explosives vest as he approached the police station.
Spokesman Pierre-Henri Brandet also said the man was thought to have shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is great) before police shot him to death.
Details of the incident are still emerging.
Also Thursday, French President Francois Hollande outlined new security guidelines for armed police officers as he commemorated the three police officers who died defending French citizens in last year’s Charlie Hebdo attacks.
Hollande said police officers will now be allowed to keep their weapons off duty. He also pledged to boost the number of armed security forces by 5,000.
He spoke at a wreath-laying ceremony honoring the police officers killed in the line of duty while protecting the Charlie Hebdo offices from the attackers. Hollande also expressed gratitude to the police officers who tracked down the attackers.
And he praised the security forces presently stationed outside schools, airports, and other public places to defend against terror attacks.
On Wednesday Charlie Hebdo marked the first anniversary of the attack with a cover that was characteristically provocative.
Wednesday’s issue of the magazine depicts a cartoon image of God carrying a Kalashnikov automatic rifle with a caption that reads, “One year on: the killer is still at large.”
Seventeen people eventually died in a three-day siege that ended in the Paris suburbs.
Source: https://www.voanews.com/content/man-shot-outside-paris-police-station/3134821.html
