Four French police officers are dead this morning after being stabbed to death by an administrator working at the police station in Paris:
KTLA – An administrator armed with a knife attacked officers inside Paris police headquarters Thursday, killing at least four before he was fatally shot, officials said.
Police union official Loic Travers told reporters the attack appeared to have started in an office and continued elsewhere in the large police compound across the street from Notre Dame Cathedral.
The number of people injured was not immediately known.
Travers said the motive is unknown, but that the 20-year police employee allegedly responsible for the attack worked in the intelligence unit and had not posed known problems until Thursday.
He said he could not remember an attack of this magnitude against officers.
Emery Siamandi, who worked at police headquarters, said he was in the stairwell leading to the chief’s office when he heard gunshots.
“I told myself, this isn’t right,” Siamandi said. “Moments later, I saw three policewomen crying. I couldn’t help them in any way, and their colleagues were crying, too, so I figured it must be serious.”
He said he saw one officer on his knees in tears.
The attack came a day after thousands of officers marched in Paris to protest low wages, long hours and increasing suicides in their ranks.
According to someone who was at the police station when it happened, 5 others were wounded in the knife attack and police said it was done by one of their ‘colleagues’:
I can’t imagine what the motive would be in a stabbing like this, especially when the administrator hadn’t shown any signs beforehand.
But I’m sure after this horrific stabbing, knife control will be a big topic in France and assault knives will be banned.