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Paris shooting: man killed at Orly airport had shot police officer Paris shooting: man killed at Orly airport had shot police officer
(35 minutes later)
Anti-terror officials have launched an investigation after a man reportedly known to the security services shot a police officer in northern Paris before travelling across the city to Orly airport, where he was killed following an altercation with another officer. Anti-terror officials have launched an investigation after a man known to the security services shot at a police officer in northern Paris before travelling across the city to Orly airport, where he was killed following an altercation with another officer.
The attacker was said to be a radicalised Muslim who appeared on a security watch list, police sources told Reuters. The anti-terrorism prosecutor in France later confirmed an inquiry had been opened into the incident on Saturday morning.The attacker was said to be a radicalised Muslim who appeared on a security watch list, police sources told Reuters. The anti-terrorism prosecutor in France later confirmed an inquiry had been opened into the incident on Saturday morning.
The man was shot after he tried to grab a soldier’s weapon at the airport. Interior ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said: “A man took a weapon from a soldier then hid in a shop in the airport before being shot dead by security forces.” French defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the Orly attacker assaulted a patrol of three air force soldiers, one of whom was a woman. The attacker wrestled her to the floor and tried to take her weapon, but she managed to keep hold of it. The two other soldiers then opened fire “to protect her” and passengers in the airport.
The soldier was part of the Sentinel special forces, an elite military group installed around France to protect sensitive sites after a string of deadly Islamic extremist attacks. The soldiers were part of the Sentinelle special forces, an elite military group installed around France to protect sensitive sites after a string of deadly Islamic extremist attacks.
Police sources said the same man was also involved in the incident at Stains, north of the French capital, in which a policeman was shot and injured during a road check. Bruno Le Roux, the interior minister, said the man shot dead at the airport was linked with a car-hijacking incident earlier on Saturday in a northern suburb of Paris. He said the man shot a police officer at a traffic stop before stealing the woman’s car at gunpoint.
No explosive devices were found on the dead man’s body, Brandet said. Le Roux confirmed that the gunman was known by police and intelligence.
Police evacuated both terminals at Orly and all flights have been suspended, with some diverted to Charles de Gaulle airport. Travellers have been told to avoid the airport while the security operation was under way. Some passengers whose flights had already landed were being held on board. French presidential hopeful Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to the French troops involved in the Sentinelle operation. The independent centrist said in a speech in Paris that the soldiers who were attacked in Orly airport “demonstrated one more time calm, control and professionalism”.
A witness, Franck Lecam, said: “We had queued up to check in for the Tel Aviv flight when we heard three or four shots nearby. We are all outside the airport, about 200 metres from the entrance. No explosive devices were found on the dead man’s body, an interior ministry spokesman said.
“There are policemen, emergency workers and soldiers everywhere in all directions. A security official told us that it happened near gates 37-38 where Turkish Airlines flights were scheduled.” About 3,000 people were evacuated from both terminals at Orly and all flights have been suspended, with some diverted to Charles de Gaulle airport.
Travellers have been told to avoid the airport while the security operation was under way. Some passengers whose flights had already landed were being held on board.
A witness, Franck Lecam, said: “We had queued up to check in for the Tel Aviv flight when we heard three or four shots nearby. We are all outside the airport, about 200 metres from the entrance. There are policemen, emergency workers and soldiers everywhere in all directions. A security official told us that it happened near gates 37-38 where Turkish Airlines flights were scheduled.”
No one else was injured in the Orly incident.No one else was injured in the Orly incident.
The French interior minister, Bruno Le Roux, is due to visit the airport, south of Paris, later. The airport shooting follows after a similar incident last month at the Louvre museum in central Paris.
The aiport shooting follows after a similar incident last month at the Louvre museum in central Paris.
France remains under a state of emergency in the wake of the attack on the Bataclan music venue in November 2015 in which 90 people were killed by jihadi gunmen, and the Nice truck attack last July that claimed the lives of 84 people and injured hundreds more.France remains under a state of emergency in the wake of the attack on the Bataclan music venue in November 2015 in which 90 people were killed by jihadi gunmen, and the Nice truck attack last July that claimed the lives of 84 people and injured hundreds more.