Six wounded in Paris train station stabbing attack

Published January 11, 2023
French police stand guard in a hall of Paris’ Gare du Nord train station, after several people were lightly wounded by a man wielding a knife on Jan 11. — AFP
French police stand guard in a hall of Paris’ Gare du Nord train station, after several people were lightly wounded by a man wielding a knife on Jan 11. — AFP

An attacker stabbed six people on Wednesday at the busy Gare du Nord station in Paris before being shot and apprehended by police, authorities said.

The Gare du Nord is a busy commuter hub which also serves as a departure point for trains to northern France, London and northern Europe.

Police were treating the stabbings as attempted murder, not as a terrorist attack, a source close to the case said. The attacker’s motive was not immediately clear.

One of the six people was seriously wounded in the attack at 6:42am (5:42am GMT) while the other five sustained light injuries, prosecutors said.

 French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin (C) talks to the press next to Junior Minister for Transports Clement Beaune (L) and Paris Police Prefect Laurent Nunez (2ndL) at Paris’ Gare du Nord train station, after several people were lightly wounded by a man wielding a knife on Jan 11. — AFP
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin (C) talks to the press next to Junior Minister for Transports Clement Beaune (L) and Paris Police Prefect Laurent Nunez (2ndL) at Paris’ Gare du Nord train station, after several people were lightly wounded by a man wielding a knife on Jan 11. — AFP

The entire incident was over within two minutes, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told reporters at the scene.

It was not immediately clear what type of weapon the attacker had used. Police initially described it as a bladed weapon. Darmanin later said it was not actually a knife, but a “threatening weapon”.

Le Parisien newspaper said it was believed to be a sharp pointed tool, “a kind of awl”.

The attacker sustained injuries to the chest after police fired three rounds. He was taken to hospital where he was fighting for his life, Darmanin said.

The police who intervened were off-duty officers in plain clothes who used their service weapons to stop the attack, he said.

The police officers “were returning from duty at police headquarters to take their train and go home, but they were armed”, Darmanin said.

They were authorised to make use of their weapons although not on duty, he said. One member of the border police deployed at the station was lightly injured.

“An individual injured several people this morning at the Gare du Nord,” Darmanin had tweeted earlier.

“He was quickly neutralised. Thank you to the police for their effective and courageous response”.

 A screengrab showing Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin’s translated tweet.
A screengrab showing Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin’s translated tweet.

The incident caused delays to trains at the station in the early morning rush as police cordoned off the station, and set up large white curtains around the attack scene. But no services were cancelled, a spokesman for rail operator SNCF told AFP.

The Gare du Nord is one of the world’s busiest train stations with 700,000 travellers per day. It is the departure point for Eurostar and Thalys services to the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.

France remains on a state of heightened security alert after a spate of deadly attacks by Islamist radicals and others since 2015.

The country has repeatedly taken actions and put restrictions in an attempt to fight what it describes as “Islamist separatism”.

Must Read

Ukraine, Nato and the future of Europe

Ukraine, Nato and the future of Europe

The spectacle of the verbal spat between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Vlodomyr Zelensky in the Oval Office was stark evidence of a tectonic shift in longstanding US foreign policy on Ukraine, Russia, Europe and Nato.

Opinion

Editorial

After the review
Updated 16 Mar, 2025

After the review

Should prepare economy for durable growth by attracting foreign private investments to boost productivity and exports.
Embracing crypto
16 Mar, 2025

Embracing crypto

IT seems a little prod was all it took for Pakistan to finally ‘embrace the future’. The Pakistan Crypto Council...
Fault lines
16 Mar, 2025

Fault lines

IT was a distressing spectacle, though a sadly predictable one. As the National Assembly took up for discussion the...
Revised solar policy
Updated 15 Mar, 2025

Revised solar policy

Criticism policy revisions misplaced as these will increase payback periods for consumers with oversized solar systems.
Toxic prejudice
15 Mar, 2025

Toxic prejudice

WITH far-right movements on the march across the world, it is no surprise that anti-Muslim bias is witnessing high...
Children in jails
15 Mar, 2025

Children in jails

PAKISTAN’S children in prison have often been treated like adult criminals. The Sindh government’s programme to...