Paris police shoot attacker outside Notre-Dame Cathedral

Paris police shot and injured a man on Tuesday who allegedly tried to attack an officer with a hammer outside of the city’s Notre-Dame Cathedral, according to Agence France-Presse.

The man had reportedly attempted to attack the officer while he was on patrol near the cathedral. Another officer shot the suspect, AFP reported.

The suspect has reportedly been hospitalized with minor injuries.

#BREAKING Police shoot, injure attacker outside Paris’s Notre-Dame cathedral: authorities

— AFP news agency (@AFP) June 6, 2017 

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said at a news conference shortly after the attack that the suspect is an Algerian student and is believed to have acted on his own. In addition to the hammer, the suspect was also carrying kitchen knives.  

“There’s been no other news of claims or actions,” Collomb said, according to a translation. “The man who attacked today was on his own. From what we understand there was nobody else. He was not working in conjunction with anybody.”

Earlier reports said that police were responding to gunshots in the area, causing panic and leaving people trapped inside the historic cathedral.

Notre-Dame is among the country’s most famous and highly-trafficked tourist attractions. Police are urging the public to avoid the area. 

Parvis de #NotreDame Intervention en cours des effectifs de police, évitez le secteur

— Préfecture de police (@prefpolice) June 6, 2017

Paris has suffered a bout of deadly terrorist attacks in recent years, including a November 2015 attack that left 130 people dead and hundreds injured. French authorities have not yet said if they are considering Tuesday’s attack an act of terrorism. 

France is currently on its highest level of terror alert. 

The episode follows two high-profile attacks in the United Kingdom. One of those attacks, in Manchester, England, last month, left 22 people dead and dozens wounded. Another attack last weekend killed seven people and injured 48.