French police confirm at least one dead in Paris attack

PARIS - 12 May 2018: One person was killed in a knife attack in Paris on Saturday and the assailant was shot dead by police, a police source said.

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb confirmed there had been an attack in Paris and said there were victims, without giving any details. The attacker had been overpowered by police, he said.

The Paris prefecture had earlier said a person had carried out a knife attack in the second arrondissement - or district - of the French capital. Paris' opera and landmark retail stores are located in that area.

The police source said some seven people had been injured. BFM TV said two were in a critical condition.

A judicial source said authorities were looking into whether the anti-terrorism prosecutor's office should be handling the case.

France has been on high alert as a series of attacks commissioned or inspired by Islamic State have hit the country over the past three years in which dozens of people have been killed.