There’s been a serious incident outside the Louvre museum in Paris today.
Here’s what we know so far:
- A man attacked a soldier outside the Louvre
- The man, who was wielding a machete and shouting “Allahu akhbar”, attacked soldiers when they told him he couldn’t enter an underground shopping mall beneath the Louvre with his bags, police union official Yves Lefebvre said.
- Officers said a soldier then shot the attacker five times, leaving him seriously injured. The soldier was slightly injured during the assault.
- The attacker was carrying machetes and backpacks
- Lefebvre said police found two machetes on the man.
- He was also carrying two backpacks, but neither contained explosives.
- The French interior ministry said that there are no details about the identity of the attacker.
- The area has been sealed off to the public
- A tweet from France’s Interior Ministry said: “Grave public security event under way in Paris in the Louvre quarter, priority (given) to the intervention of security forces and emergency personnel.”
- The museum and the surrounding area have been evacuated, with confused tourists being shooed away by officers.
- The area is closed to vehicles and trains have been pushed through the Louvre metro station without stopping.
- Soldiers are on patrol because of previous terror attacks
- France was put under a state of emergency following the terror attacks that claimed hundreds of lives in Paris and Nice.
- Soldiers on patrol are part of the increased security measures since these attacks in 2015 and 2016.
- Terrorism police are now investigating
- The French interior ministry said anti-terrorism prosecutors are investigating this attack.
- Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said a second person was also arrested, but it’s unclear whether that person was linked to the attack.