A gunman opened fire on Champs-Élysées in Paris and killed one police officer and injured two more before being shot by police forces Thursday night. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the terror attack.
The French Interior Ministry said the shooting attack “deliberately targeted” police officers guarding the area near the Franklin Roosevelt subway station at the center of the avenue. Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said the gunman came out of a car and opened fire on the police vehicle with an automatic firearm akin to a “war weapon” at 8.50 p.m. local time. The attacker was shot dead while he was trying to run away from the scene.
Only one tourist was wounded in the knee from a flying shrapnel, no other civilians were injured but the shooting caused immense panic among all the pedestrians along Champs-Élysées Street.
Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins confirmed that a terrorism investigation has been opened and that the 39-year-old attacker is identified but refused to name him since there are ongoing raids and investigation.
ISIS very quickly claimed responsibility for the attack via ts Amaq news agency and named the gunman Abu Yousef Al-Baljiki, “The Belgian,” adding that he was “one of the Islamic State fighters.”
The attack is just three days before the presidential elections that will be held in France. Both candidates Marine Le Pen and Francois Fillon immediately cancelled their campaign events on Friday.
