Released terrorism convict allegedly attacks officer, killed by police in Paris
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A man recently released from prison on terrorism charges was shot and killed by a police officer after he allegedly tried to attack another officer with a knife and scissors near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on Friday.
The incident occurred during the relighting of the eternal flame ceremony, which takes place every night near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
It was claimed that an unidentified person of French nationality, born in 1978, tried to attack a police officer guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and was shot by another police officer.
The French anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office said the attacker died of his injuries in hospital.
GENEOLOGY COMPANY EXECUTIVE CONDEMNS PIMA SHERIFF’S ‘destructive’ MOVE TO SEND NANCY GUTHRIE EVIDENCE TO FLORIDA LABORATORY
French police stand outside the Arc de Triomphe after a man allegedly tried to attack a police officer with a knife on Friday night. (Guillaume Baptiste/AFP via Getty Images)
He was sentenced to 17 years in prison in Brussels in 2013 for the terrorism-related crime of attempting to kill three police officers in Belgium and was released in December.
The French prosecutor’s office said the man was imprisoned for 12 years and was placed under police surveillance with routine checks.
VIDEO SHOWS THE ‘ROBBERY OF THE CENTURY’ AT THE LOUVRE
The French anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office said an investigation was launched before the man’s death due to his connection to a “terrorist organisation”.
French President Emmanuel Macron visits the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe in 2021. (Ludovic Marin/Pool via Reuters)
The man was held in a Belgian prison until 2015, then was transferred to France and released on Christmas Eve.
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION
The Arc de Triomphe was closed to guests after the incident, which resulted in no other injuries.
The man died in the incident. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva, File)
The Arc de Triomphe at the end of the Champs-Élysées is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Paris and Europe, and millions of tourists visit the monument in the heart of France’s capital every year.
Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report.
