Paris stabbing: Four people killed in knife rampage at police HQ

'The police were in panic, running everywhere,' one witness says

Three officers and an admin worker have been stabbed to death inside the Paris police headquarters before the knifeman was shot dead.

Another injured police employee is undergoing emergency surgery.

The attacker, who has not been named, was said to be an admin worker in the intelligence division of the Direction du Renseignement de la Préfecture de Police de Paris.

The stabbing at the headquarters, just across the street from Notre Dame Cathedral, happened just after midday on Thursday.

The knifeman stabbed three people inside two offices and two women on a stairway, French media reported.

Paris prosecutor Remy Heitz added that the home of the attacker was being searched and that anti-terrorism prosecutors were evaluating the situation. An investigation has been opened into “murder and attempted murder of public agents”, the prosecutor said. He did not suggest a possible motive for the stabbings.

According to the interior minister, Christophe Castaner, the attacker was a 45-year-old IT specialist who had worked for the Paris police force for 16 years.

“He had never presented any behavioural issues, he had never presented the slightest cause for alarm before going on his deadly rampage today,” Mr Castaner said from the scene.

“Our thoughts are with their families and of those who were injured,” he added, saying there was “reassuring” news of the injured person.

Jean-Marc Bailleul, a police union leader, described the incident as criminal rather than an act of terror. “It was a moment of madness,” Mr Bailleul told BFM TV.

One witness told Le Parisien: “I heard a shot, I think it was around 12:30. Around me there were only policemen. They immediately unsheathed their weapon. I was very surprised to hear these shots because this is not the place where we imagine that it can happen.

“I first thought of a suicide because there are many at the moment. And then a few moments later I saw policewomen in tears. I thought it must be serious. The police were in panic, running everywhere. Many people were crying.”

The attacker reportedly used a ceramic knife and began the attack in an office before continuing elsewhere throughout the headquarters.

The roads around the compound on Ile de la Cité have been closed, while the Cité Metro station near the police headquarters has also been shut down for security reasons, the RATP transport operator said.

French president Emmanuel Macron visited the scene, with his office saying the president wanted to show solidarity and support for all police officers and employees.

The deadly attack came just one day after thousands of police protested in Paris against poor working conditions and the high suicide rate among serving officers. According to the latest numbers given by police unions, 52 police officers have committed suicide so far in 2019.

Reuters contributed to this report