A man has been shot dead by police in a French city after five people were wounded in a hotel and a nearby street. At the time of the incident on September 2, the man was armed with two knives and a baton, an official said. He had been evicted from the hotel in Marseille for not paying his rent, according to local authorities. 

After being evicted from the hotel, the man came back armed with knives and attacked three people, Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone told reporters during a press briefing. The suspected attacker was described by the prosecutor as a Tunisian national who was legally resident in France and known to police. 

The prosecutor said the man attacked one person in his old room before stabbing the manager of the hotel and his son, who fled into the street.   

The suspect then went on to a crowded street, where he went on what prosecutors called a “criminal rampage”, injuring at least two people with a baton. Witnesses heard shots ringing out in front of a kebab shop near Marseille’s Old Port just before 3pm local time (2pm BST).  

Brave customers chased the man away from an eatery in Cours Belsunce before a police patrol in the area intervened. After ordering the suspect to drop his weapons, which he refused to do, officers “neutralised” the suspect, Mr Bessone said. 

One victim who was stabbed at the hotel was in a critical condition, according to Mr Bessone. He said the other two were also seriously wounded. An investigation has been launched. 

France’s Interior Minister, Bruno Retailleau, was due to visit the scene of the attack. Marseille’s Mayor Benoît Payan praised police for their swift response.

He posted: “[A]longside residents, law enforcement, and emergency services, I express my full support to all those affected by the heinous knife attack that occurred in Belsunce today.

“I thank the national police for their swift response. I just spoke with the Minister of the Interior, who will be in Marseille this evening.

“The safety of the people of Marseille is my priority.”