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Knife attacker wounds three at major Paris train station

Three people were injured Saturday in a knife attack at Paris's Gare de Lyon railway station, a major travel hub, police said, adding that a suspect with psychiatric problems had been arrested.

Knife attacker wounds three at major Paris train station
French forensic and judicial police work after a knife attack at Paris's Gare de Lyon railway station. Photo: Thomas SAMSON/AFP.

Prosecutors later said they had ended their questioning of the suspect, a Malian national, due to his “incompatible” mental state and placed him in police custody for psychiatric care.

The man went on a stabbing spree at 7:35 am (06:35 GMT) at the station, which operates domestic trains as well as those heading to Switzerland and Italy.

One person suffered life-threatening injuries to the abdomen while two others were lightly wounded, Paris police prefect Laurent Nunez told reporters. A fourth person went into shock after witnessing the assaults.

The stabbing took place less than six months before Paris hosts the 2024 Olympics and an expected 15 million visitors.

Paris prosecutors said the suspect might have used a knife and a hammer that were under analysis.

“The suspect did not cry out (any religious slogans) during his attack,” a police source said. “He presented the police an Italian driving licence”, which gave his date of birth as January 1, 1992.

His Italian papers were in order, showing he had lived legally in the country since 2016 and had no criminal record. The suspect volunteered to police that he suffered from “psychiatric problems” and he was carrying medicine, said Nunez.

“We will see if terrorism can be ruled out, after checks underway on his telephone records, life in Italy and comments to investigators,” Nunez added.

Passers-by overpowered the man before railway police arrived on the scene, the police source said.

“A thank you to those who overpowered the man who carried out this unbearable act,” said Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin on X, formerly Twitter.

The attackers’ motives remained unclear.

The Paris prosecutor’s office launched an inquiry into the attack, while the national anti-terrorist prosecutor said it was observing proceedings at this stage.

The assault took place less than six months before Paris hosts the 2024 Olympics and and an expected 15 million visitors.

Each year more than 100 million passengers go through the Gare de Lyon, France’s biggest mainline hub.

The area between halls one and three were temporarily inaccessible, rail operator SNCF said on X, formerly Twitter. Services to the Paris region were delayed, the SNCF said, referring only to “an act of criminal intent.”

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CRIME

Teens charged in France over plot to attack Jewish targets: judicial source

French prosecutors have charged a 19-year-old man and a youth in the Paris region with planning a "terrorist" attack on Jewish targets, a judicial source told AFP on Friday.

Teens charged in France over plot to attack Jewish targets: judicial source

While no details on the pair have been released, French anti-terrorist investigators have expressed increased concern over the young age of some suspects detained in recent months for planning militant attacks.

The 19-year-old has been charged with “terrorist conspiracy” to commit attacks and the “acquisition and possession of arms for a terrorist enterprise,” said the judicial source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

READ ALSO: Anti-Semitism fears stalk Jewish voters’ choice in France

The youth aged under 18 was detained on June 13, the source said.

The pair made contact on social media and were planning a “a violent action notably aiming at Jewish targets,” said the source without giving details on the plot.

Anti-terrorism investigators say a growing number of youths have been held in recent months for preparing attacks.

READ ALSO: French election breakdown: TV debates, polling latest and anti-Semitism

“This is a necessarily worrying phenomenon,” senior anti-terrorist prosecutor Olivier Christen said at an evidentiary hearing on Wednesday.

French politicians have also condemned a growing number of attacks on the country’s Jewish community, the biggest outside Israel and the United States.

Outrage has been expressed over the rape of a 12-year-old Jewish girl in a park in the Paris suburbs last Saturday. Two 13-year-old boys have been charged with rape and making anti-Semitic insults.

Several protest rallies have been held in Paris and other French cities over the case which comes as France prepares for a national election in which the far-right National Rally party is tipped to make major gains. 

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