1 killed, 2 injured in knife and hammer attack near Eiffel Tower

New Delhi, Dec 3: Media reported a deadly knife and hammer attack on a street near the Eiffel Tower in central Paris on Saturday night, leaving one person dead and two others injured, including a British man. The assailant, a 26-year-old French national known to security services, has been apprehended, and anti-terrorism prosecutors have initiated an investigation.

Officials confirmed that the victim killed in the attack was a German national. France's Interior Minister, Gérald Darmanin, provided details about the incident, stating that the victim, accompanied by his wife, was fatally stabbed on Quai de Grenelle. The wife's life was reportedly saved by the timely intervention of a taxi driver, while the assailant fled across a nearby bridge spanning the River Seine.

Following the initial attack, the suspect targeted two more individuals, with one being struck in the eye with a hammer, according to Minister Darmanin. Law enforcement responded swiftly, Tasing the suspect, identified as Armand R in French media, and arresting him on suspicion of premeditated murder (assassination) and attempted assassination in connection with a terrorist enterprise.

The two injured individuals, a Frenchman around 60 years old and a British tourist, received medical attention, and their conditions were assessed as non-life-threatening.

Minister Darmanin revealed that the suspect had previously served four years in jail for planning another attack in 2016 and was on the watchlist of French security services. Additionally, the assailant was known to have experienced psychiatric disorders.

French President Emmanuel Macron, in a message on social media, expressed solidarity with those affected by the "terrorist attack" and extended gratitude to emergency services for their swift response. This incident comes less than two months after a teacher was killed in a knife attack in Arras.