A policeman was shot dead while two other
officers were seriously injured by a Kalashnikov-wielding gunman on the
Champs Elysees in central
Paris last night.
The alleged
ISIS gunman,
identified as 39-year-old father Karim Cheurfi - who was jailed for 20
years for trying to kill officers in 2001 - parked his Audi and opened
fire after police stopped at a red light on the world famous avenue.
One
traffic officer died instantly with a shot to the head, while the other
two were hurt before Cheurfi himself was gunned down by nearby armed
police.
A ricocheting bullet fired by
the terrorist also wounded a female foreign tourist passing by. ISIS has
claimed responsibility for the attack.
Dramatic
footage captured the moment French police chased and shot at the
gunman, who later died. His ID was found in the Audi he was driving,
which confirmed he was known to security services for a number of recent
offences and had been flagged as 'an extremist'.
Officers
have been searching the home of the alleged shooter in east Paris. He
had been detained last month after it emerged he was trying to buy
weapons 'to kill police', but was released due to lack of evidence.
A French government spokesman said the ISIS gunman began firing against police using 'a weapon of war'.
Police have now launched a desperate manhunt for a second suspect, who travelled by train to France from Belgium.
The fatal incident unfolded as presidential candidates, including
National Front party leader Marine Le Pen, debated on a TV show nearby
before Sunday's election.
The alleged ISIS gunman, identified as 39-year-old Karim Cheurfi - who
was jailed for 20 years for trying to kill officers in 2001 - parked his
Audi and opened fire after police stopped at a red light on the world
famous avenue. Pictured is his arrest warrant from last month, when he
was detained for trying to obtain weapons 'to kill police'
French police officers and forensic teams searched a vehicle which was close to the scene on the Champs Elysees in Paris
Armed police officers stood guard after they rushed to the scene in the
centre of the capital following the incident which left frightened
witnesses sprinting for their lives
Karim Cheurfi used the alias 'Abu Yousuf
the Belgian', and reportedly made threats to kill police using the
social media app Telegram, an instant messaging service.
He
was born in France and lived in Chelles, a commuter town close to Paris
and was jailed for 20 years for shooting at police in 2001, after being
caught in a stolen car. But it is believed that he was released early
in 2016.
The gunman has been identified
by police but they will not officially reveal his name until
investigators determine whether he had accomplices, according to the
Paris prosecutor.
Prosecutor Francois Molins said: 'The
identity of the attacker is known and has been checked. I will not give
it because investigations with raids are ongoing.
'The investigators want to be sure whether he had or did not have accomplices.'
The
Interior Ministry spokesman said the officers were deliberately
targeted and the police union added that the policeman was killed while
sat in a car at a red light.
US President Donald Trump said: 'It looks like another terrorist attack. What can you say? It never ends.'
ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack and dramatic video
footage showed the immediate aftermath of the incident which left one policeman dead.
In the video, posted on Twitter, several figures can be seen moving around next to a police van on the Champs Elysees.
One
of the figures then appeared to fall to the ground and a silver car -
believed to have been used by the suspects - can be seen parked next to
the van.
Pierre-Henry Brandet,
spokesman for the French Interior Ministry, confirmed that both injured
officers in hospital were now 'out of danger' and 'stable', while the
female tourist was far less badly hurt.
Mr
Brandet did not name any of the victims, but praised the officers for
'helping to avoid a bloodbath' by 'neutralising' the attacker as quickly
as possible.
French President Francois Hollande said
the attack was 'terrorist related' and scheduled an emergency meeting
following the shootings on Thursday evening. French prosecutors have
opened a terrorism investigation.
Mr
Hollande said a national tribute will be paid to the policeman and added
that a 'passerby was hit' before the 'assailant was neutralised'.
Conservative contender Francois Fillon,
who has campaigned against 'Islamic totalitarianism,' said on France 2
television that he was canceling his planned campaign stops Friday.
Far-right
candidate Marine Le Pen, who campaigns against immigration and Islamic
fundamentalism, took to Twitter to offer her sympathy for law
enforcement officers 'once again targeted.' She canceled a minor
campaign stop, but scheduled another.
Centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron offered his thoughts to the family of the dead officer.
Socialist Benoit Hamon tweeted his 'full support' to police against terrorism.
Presidential candidates Marine Le Pen and Francois Fillon announced that they have both cancelled their campaigning on Friday.
Mr
Brandet, spokesman for France's Interior Ministry, confirmed that one
police officer was dead and two were seriously wounded following the
'targeted attack'.
Shortly after the
attack Brandet described what was believed to have happened. He said a
'car pulled up just after 9pm' next to a police patrol car which was
parked up on the busy avenue.
A man
jumped out with a Kalashnikov and started firing indiscriminately into
the police vehicle and hit the unidentified officer who died.
The assailant then ran off, pursued by other officers in the vicinity. Two of them were wounded as they killed him.
Mr
Brandet said 'all lines of investigation were being pursued', while
intelligence sources said the dead assailant was a known radical on a
so-called S-file, for 'State-security'.
This means he would have been under surveillance, because he was a known risk to the country.
An
eyewitness, called Chelloug, said: 'It was a terrorist. He came out
with a Kalashnikov and started shooting, but he could've shot us on the
pavement and killed more people with a spray of shots.
'But he targeted the policemen and fortunately there were the policemen who killed him.'
Another
witness said: 'I saw someone shoot at the police officers. They
returned fire, they killed him, he fell on the floor. And then the
emergency services came.
'It took
place by Zara and there was a CRS (Republican Security Companies) van
parked up and the man shot the police officers. He took out a weapon and
shot them.
'I think the police officer was killed on the spot and his colleagues fired back and killed the individual.'
The attack comes just three days before the first round of balloting in France's tense presidential election.
A
witness, identified only as Ines, told BFM that she heard a shooting,
saw a man's body on the ground and the area was quickly evacuated by
police.
It
comes just two days after police arrested two men in southern Marseille
with weapons and explosives who were suspected of preparing an attack
to disrupt the first-round of the presidential election on Sunday.
France
is in a state of emergency and at its highest possible level of alert
since a string of terror attacks that began in 2015, which have killed
over 230 people.
Thousands of troops
and armed police have been deployed to guard tourist hotspots such as
the Champs Elysees or other potential targets like government buildings
and religious sites.
French soldiers secure the Champs Elysees Avenue after a police officer was killed when a gunman opened fire in Paris.
No comments:
Post a Comment