French police kill knife-wielding man at Paris train station

French police has killed a man who attacked them with a knife at Paris' Gare du Nord station.

The man attacked two police officers on patrol at the station, the terminus for trains from London, on Monday with a 30-centimetre (12-inch) knife, said a police source.

“The police used their firearms, thus eliminating all danger, both for themselves and for travellers,” Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin wrote in a tweet.

The attack occurred around 7:00am (0600GMT), he said.

Not terrorism related

A France Television journalist who was at the train station at the time posted a video of the incident on social media, in which two gunshots can be heard.

“It was an individual known to the police as someone who wandered around in the station,” Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari told RMC TV.

“He appears to have attacked the police with a knife, forcing them to use their weapon.”

The attack is not thought to be terrorist-related, the minister added.

Gare du Nord is one of Europe’s biggest train stations and home to international train services connecting France with the UK and Belgium. 

According to the minister, the incident caused major traffic disruptions on Monday morning.

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