Man stabs six people at Paris train station

An attacker has stabbed six people today at the busy Gare du Nord station in Paris before being shot and apprehended by police, authorities said.

The Gare du Nord is a busy commuter hub which also serves as a departure point for trains to northern France, London and northern Europe.

Police were treating the stabbings as attempted murder, not as a terrorist attack, a source close to the case said.

The attacker’s motive was not immediately clear.

One of the six people was seriously wounded in the attack at 6:42 am (0542 GMT), while the other five sustained light injuries, prosecutors said.

The entire incident was over within two minutes, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told reporters at the scene.

It was not immediately clear what type of weapon the attacker had used.

Police initially described it as a bladed weapon. Darmanin later said it was not actually a knife, but a “threatening weapon”.

Le Parisien newspaper said it was believed to be a sharp pointed tool, “a kind of awl”.

The attacker sustained injuries to the chest after police fired three rounds. He was taken to hospital where he was fighting for his life, Darmanin said.

The police who intervened were off-duty officers in plain clothes who used their service weapons to stop the attack, he said.