NOTRE DRAMA

Maniac attacks cop, is shot at Paris cathedral

A POLICEMAN on Tuesday shot and wounded a man who tried to attack officers with a hammer outside Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral.

The unidentified man approached a patrol of three policemen from behind and began attacking them, French interior minister Gérard Collomb said. One cop responded, firing two shots and striking the assailant in the legs.

The hammer-wielding suspect shouted, “This is for Syria” during the attack, according to Collomb.

At least 600 people were blocked inside the landmark cathedral while police secured the area around it and searched those inside for weapons.

The suspect, who carried an Algerian student ID card that authorities are working to authenticate, was taken to a hospital, French police said. The officer, 22, was also taken to a hospital with non-lifethreatening injuries.

“His colleague reacted with composure and immediately fired back,” Collomb said. He added that the suspect carried multiple kitchen knives.

An eyewitness told Agence France-Presse he heard loud shout. “Then there was a crowd surge and people panicked,” he said. “I heard two shots and saw a man lying on the ground in a pool of blood.”

France has maintained a state of emergency since a series of coordinated terror attacks shook Paris in November 2015.

Man who yelled, “This is for Syria,” as he swung hammer at cops lies wounded after being shot Tuesday outside Notre Dame.