Paris knife attacker was born in Chechnya

Man who killed one and injured four on Saturday night was known to police for his radicalism

The assailant in a deadly knife attack in central Paris was born in Chechnya, a judicial source said yesterday.

He killed one person and injured four on Saturday night. Two of those wounded remain in a serious condition.

The man, who was shot dead by police, had French nationality but was born in the Russian republic in 1997.

He had been the subject of police attention for radicalism and his parents were held for questioning, French authorities said yesterday.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack in a post on its Amaq news agency but provided no proof of its claim.

French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted that the country has “once again paid in blood but will not give an inch to the enemies of freedom”. Mr Macron also praised officers for “neutralising the terrorist”.

The attack took place near the city’s main opera house in an area full of theatres, restaurants and bars, which were busy on Saturday night. People were moved from some buildings in the Right Bank neighbourhood.

France has once again paid in blood but we will not give an inch to the enemies of freedom EMMANUEL MACRON French President

Witnesses described how they saw the attacker running towards police officers, who shot him.

“We were told to get into a bar quickly,” a woman told LCI television. “I was curious and went outside again.

“I saw a person on the ground about 200 metres from me. The police, fire brigade and ambulance arrived. I could not see anything else after that.”

Interior Minister Gerard Collomb also praised “police who neutralised the attacker”.

Jonathan, a waiter at a Korean restaurant, told AFP: “I was taking orders and I saw a young woman trying to get into the restaurant in panic. The woman was bleeding and the attacker appeared behind her.” He said a young man tried to fend off the assailant, who fled.

“The attacker entered a shopping street, I saw him with a knife in his hand. He looked crazy.”

Milan, 19, said he saw “several people in distress” including a woman with wounds to her neck and leg.

Mr Collomb held a special security meeting yesterday.

Terrorist attacks have killed more than 245 people in France in the past three years.