French police stand guard in a hall of Paris' Gare du Nord train station. AFP

A man attacked and wounded six people at the Gare du Nord train station in Paris on Wednesday morning, leaving one with serious injuries, before being shot by off-duty police officers, authorities said. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told reporters the man attacked travellers with what looked like a home-made weapon at 5.42 GMT (9.42 UAE time) at the entrance and inside the station.

Police had earlier said the man had used a knife or blade. Within a minute, off-duty police officers returning home after a night shift shot the attacker three times, Darmanin said. Gare du Nord, one of the busiest stations in Europe, is the arrival point of the Eurostar train from London and a major gateway to the north of Europe.

Asked about possible terrorist motives, Darmanin said a criminal investigation had been opened but that so far no investigation for terrorism had been opened. He said the attacker, who has been taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries, had said nothing during the attack and had no identity papers on him. One of the six injured is a police officer, Darmanin said.

Police secured the area following the attack. Radio franceinfo, quoting rail operator SNCF, said trains were operating normally. In February 2022, police killed a man who attacked them with a knife at the Gare du Nord station. In October 2017, a man who stabbed two people at the Marseille train station was shot and killed by soldiers.

Reuters