• Six people were injured, including one seriously, by stabbing, Wednesday Gare du Nord in Paris, by a man immediately overpowered by police on the spot.

  • An investigation was opened on the head of attempted assassination, entrusted to the criminal brigade of the judicial police.

    The police force was also seized because of the use of a firearm by the police.

  • The motives of the attacker, whose identity was not known, remain unclear.

The attack only lasted a minute.

It was 6:43 a.m. on Wednesday when police opened fire on a man who injured several people with a punch-type weapon in the Gare du Nord, located in the 10th arrondissement of Paris.

Hit in the arm and chest, he was taken to hospital.

His vital prognosis is engaged.

“Without the extremely rapid intervention of the police, there would certainly have been victims,” said the Minister of the Interior during a press briefing.

The violent journey of this man began at 6:42 am, on the forecourt of the first station in Europe, which welcomes 700,000 travelers every day.

For an as yet undetermined reason, the suspect attacked several people using a weapon that he “would have made himself the weapon, which is not a knife”, specified Gérald Darmanin.

According to our information, it would be a punch type weapon.

Inside the station, near the Eurostar access stairs, he attacked a border police officer who tried to surround him.

One of his colleagues then intervened using his weapon.

Six people injured

Alerted by the noise, another police officer from the railway network brigade, who was returning home after his service, immediately arrived and also opened fire with his administrative weapon, as he has authorization.

Indeed, since the implementation of the “travel-protect” system in January 2022, the police can benefit from reductions and free train tickets, in exchange for their armed presence in the trains.

To do this, they simply have to report to the skipper.

Seriously injured, the aggressor is "between life and death", indicated the Minister of the Interior.

In addition, six people were injured in the attack, according to the Paris prosecutor's office: five, including the PAF policeman who was wearing a bulletproof vest, were slightly injured, and another more seriously.

She is "hospitalized, but is not in absolute emergency," said Gérald Darmanin.

Fuzzy motivations

An investigation was opened on the head of attempted assassination, entrusted to the entire judicial police with the criminal brigade as coordinator.

The IGPN, the police force, was also seized because of the use of a firearm by the police.

Act of a lunatic?

Terrorist attack?

For the time being, the motivations of the assailant, whose identity was not known, remain unclear.

"To my knowledge, he said nothing" at the time of the events, said the Minister of the Interior.

The National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor's Office is changing the situation but is not seized for the moment.

Miscellaneous facts

Paris: Six stabbed in the Gare du Nord, the attacker arrested

Miscellaneous facts

“Concluded case”: Caroline Margeridon victim of an attack in Saint-Ouen

  • Miscellaneous facts

  • Paris

  • Ile-de-France

  • North Station

  • Police

  • Federal police

  • Station

  • Assault