Paris: The man with the machete near the Louvre is an Egyptian citizen

The police stated that the area where the incident took place was evacuated, reports Reuters
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Ažurirano: 03.02.2017. 17:43h

The man who wielded a machete in an attempt to enter the Louvre and was shot by French soldiers is an Egyptian citizen who arrived in France at the end of January.

This was stated by a source close to the investigation, reports Reuters.

"According to the initial findings of the investigation, he was an Egyptian citizen," said the source.

A French soldier opened fire and shot a man after he was attacked with a machete in the center of Paris, near the famous Louvre museum, AFP reports. French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said that the attack was "terrorist in nature".

As Reuters reports, a soldier shot a man who "tried to enter the museum carrying bags." There were no explosives in the bags.

The police chief said the attacker most likely acted alone, while another person was arrested for suspicious behavior. The attacker shouted "Allahu akbar", French police said.

French media reports that the attacker was shot in the legs, that part of the Louvre and the Carousel shopping center were evacuated and surrounded by strong security forces, and that "the situation is safe".

As reported by the "BBC", referring to the data of the French television "RTL TV", the attacker attacked the soldier with a machete, who then shot him.

"The only thing we know for now is that the attacker attacked the soldier who was guarding the Louvre, with the intention of injuring him and getting inside," said Lik Ponjan, one of the police officials, for "BFM" television.

The French Ministry of the Interior briefly announced that a serious security operation is underway, and that it will soon contact the public with new information. The Louvre is currently secured by a large number of policemen who have created a cordon and evacuated many civilians, including a large number of foreign tourists.

A police source told "Figaro" that the attacker actually tried to enter an underground shopping center in the immediate vicinity of the museum, according to Reuters.

One of the witnesses, who posted a video in front of the famous pyramid on his Twitter account VoiceBOxx, says that suddenly sirens were heard, after which the barricades flew out of the street, and four armed guards ran towards the entrance.

The police stated that the area where the incident took place was evacuated, reports Reuters.

The French interior minister called the incident "serious".

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