Security forces shot dead a man who seized a soldier’s gun at Paris Orly airport in France on Saturday soon after the same man shot and wounded a police officer during a routine police check, the interior minister said.
The man was known to police and intelligence services, Interior Minister Bruno le Roux told reporters. A police source described him as a radicalized Muslim but did not identify him by name.
The anti-terrorism prosecutor opened an investigation.
The busy Orly airport south of Paris was evacuated and security forces swept the area for bombs to make sure the dead man was not wearing an explosive belt, but nothing was found, interior ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet told Reuters.
“The man succeeded in seizing the weapon of a soldier. He was quickly neutralized by the security forces,” Brandet said.
No one else was injured at the airport.
Flights were suspended from both terminals of the airport and some flights were diverted to Charles de Gaulle airport north of the capital, airport operator ADP said.
Earlier, a police officer was shot and wounded by the same man during a routine traffic check in Stains, north of Paris.
The incidents came five weeks before France holds presidential elections in which national security is a key issue.
Source: Reuters
