Champs-Elysées Reopens Hours After ISIS Gun Attack Killed Cop
The incident came as French voters prepared go to the polls on Sunday in a tight-presidential elections.
- Champs-Elysees boulevard was reopened on Friday morning
- Armed attacker opened fired on the police at Champs-Elysées in Paris
- One police officer died, two were injured in the incident
- One assailant was shot dead
- Fresh shots fired in a different area of Champs-Elysees
- Police are trying to ascertain if it is an incident of armed robbery or terrorist attack.
'Hunt For Second Suspect On'
French police were on Friday hunting a second suspect in connection with the fatal shooting of a policeman on Thursday night, French Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said.
Champs-Elysees Reopens
Champs-Elysees boulevard has been reopened and is picking up its usual early morning routine on Friday after a attack on Thursday night.
Municipal workers in white hygiene suits washed down the sidewalk where the attack took place. Delivery trucks were making their rounds. Traffic was going up and down the famous tree-lined street and police barriers have been taken down.
ISIS Claims Responsibility; Police Identifies Attacker
Terrorist organisation Islamic State claimed responsibility for the Paris attack on Thursday that left a police officer dead, in their mouth piece Amaq News Agency.
It identified the attacker as one of its soldiers naming him as Abu Yousif, a Belgian.
Paris police haven’t ascertained whether the attack was terror-related or not.
The Telegraph report said that the assailant was “recently detained and questioned” at a police station in Meaux after they received information that he was trying to procure weapons “to kill policemen”.
He was later “let go” due to lack of evidence.
Terrorism Can Strike Anytime, Anywhere: Mike Pence
US Vice President Mike Pence condemned the shooting of police officers in Paris and said that it is the “latest reminder that terrorism can strike anywhere, anytime”. He said the US “will not relent in our effort to end terrorism”.
Pence, during his speech to business leaders in Jakarta, Indonesia, said that the people of Paris have “our condolences and our prayers”.
He Shot Straight at the Police Officer: Bystander Recounts
"I came out of the Sephora shop and I was walking along the pavement... A man got out of a car and opened fire with a kalashnikov on a policeman," witness Chelloug, a kitchen assistant, told Reuters.
Paris Attack Terror Related: Hollande
French President Francois Hollande says he is convinced that the Paris attack was terror-related.
After the attack, Hollande also assured that security forces will stay vigilant in view of the upcoming presidential elections.
He also offered his condolences towards the family of the dead and said a nation tribute will be offered to the dead policeman.
French Prez Candidate Fillon Cancel Campaign Event
French Presidential candidate Francios Fillon cancels Friday’s campaign events, to pay homage to the security forces, after the Paris attack.
Second Assailant Arrived in France from Belgium
Police have issued an arrest warrant for a second suspect in the shooting that killed at least one policeman and wounded two others seriously at the Champs-Elysees in Paris on Thursday night, according to a document obtained by Reuters.
The warrant said the man had arrived in France by train from Belgium.
US Sends Emergency Message to Americans in Paris
US sends emergency message to Americans in Paris: Contact concerned family "in the US to advise them of your safety", CNN reported.
Second Cops Not Dead: French Interior Ministry Clarifies
French Interior Ministry says second police officer is not dead despite prior reports; two police officers are seriously wounded.
Attacker Got Out of Car and Opened Fire
One of the attackers got out of a car at Champs-Elysees, opened fire on a police van with automatic weapon, CNN reported a French official as saying.
Second Cop Dies of Injuries
A second policeman dies of wounds he received when he was shot by an attacker in central Paris on Thursday evening, a police source said.
Dead Attacker's Home Searched
Police conduct searches at the home of the dead assailant in the East Paris.
Paris police have issued an order asking people to avoid Champs-Elysees area.
Counter-Terrorism Office Opens Investigation
New shots were fired near Paris' Champs-Elysees avenue, more than an hour after a police officer was killed on the avenue earlier, a police source told Reuters on Thursday.
The counter-terrorism office has opened an investigation into the shooting, the prosecutor's office said. One of the gunmen was killed and a police source said that the attacker was known to security services
Trump Offers Condolences to Unconfirmed "Terrorist Attack in Paris"
US President Donald Trump offered condolences after a policeman was shot dead in Paris’ Champs-Elysees. He said it look like another terrorist attack.
Government officials and Paris police haven’t been able to determine the nature of the attack, with some suspecting that it was an attempt at armed robbery.
Could be an Attempt to Robbery
Police officers were deliberately targeted in the Paris Champs-Elysees avenue shooting, but it is too early to say what the motive was, French Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said on Thursday.
Police sources had said earlier that the shooting could have been an attempt at an armed robbery.
Two Killed, Two Injured, Gunman Known to Security
The police officer who was killed in central Paris was shot by an assailant in a car which had stopped at a red light, a police union said on Twitter.
One police officer died and two were injured in the attack on the Champs-Elysees avenue, and one of the attackers was also killed, an interior ministry source said.
Police sources said that gunman who was killed was known to security forces.
Fresh Shots Fired
Shots fired at a new location near Champs-Elysees Avenue.
Champs-Elysees Packed With Police Vans
French TV channel BFM broadcast footage of the Arc de Triomphe monument and top half of the Champs Elysees packed with police vans, lights flashing and heavily armed police shutting the area down after what was described by one journalist as a major exchange of fire nears a Marks and Spencers store.
The incident came as French voters prepared go to the polls on Sunday in the most tightly-contested presidential election in living memory.
France has lived under a state of emergency since 2015 and has suffered a spate of Islamist militant attacks that have killed more than 230 people in the past two years.
One Assailant Killed
A person who fired on police on the Champs-Elysees shopping boulevard just days ahead of France's presidential election has been killed, the source said. A police source also said there had been two assailants, and a witness told Reuters that one man got out of a car at the scene and began shooting with a machine gun.
A Reuters reporter saw a helicopter flying low over central Paris, apparently part of a follow-up police operation.
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