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Police shot a knife-wielding man at Montparnasse station in Paris, after he had threatened his wife and children before boarding a train.
The major train station in Paris was evacuated as officers confronted the man on Friday afternoon, after he had made the threats before taking a train destined for Montparnasse.
The prosecutor’s office said an officer used his “weapon” on the man at Montparnasse station, who then inflicted knife wounds on himself. A witness told Reuters they heard several shots.
Police were waiting for the man – reported in French media to be a 44-year-old originally from Wallis and Futuna – upon his arrival. When officers confronted the man, he threatened to take his own life and was then shot in the legs, the source said.
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Passengers wait inside the Montparnasse train station in Paris on Friday after the incident (AFP via Getty)
A high-ranking police source has reportedly indicated that terrorism has been ruled out as a motivation at this stage, BFMTV reported.
The man was travelling on board a OUIGO train connecting Rennes to Paris, arriving at Montparnasse station at 3:02pm local time (2:02pm GMT), Le Parisien reported.
A witness told BFMTV he heard a loud bang before panic broke out around him.
“It took me two or three seconds to realise what was happening. People started saying, ‘We have to get out of here, we have to leave quickly,’ so that got my heart racing and I got up and ran,” the witness told the news network.
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A firefighter van is seen parked at a platform of the train station (AFP via Getty)
The police intervention caused a crowd surge through the concourse, a Reuters photographer at the station said when the incident occurred.
Authorities evacuated the station, which serves suburban commuter routes and high-speed trains headed to the country’s west and southwest.
“It appears from the initial information we have received that a man known for domestic violence had brandished a knife, and that a police officer used his weapon to stop him,” the Paris prosecutor’s office said.
“The man then allegedly stabbed himself.”