Louvre shooting: soldier opens fire at man with machete in terror alert at Paris museum

A French soldier shot a machete-wielding attacker outside the Louvre in Paris today in a major terror alert at the world famous museum.

The suspected Islamist terrorist shouted “Allahu Akbar” - God is great in Arabic - before being gunned down when he attacked soldiers.

Security guards had challenged the man to open his rucksack in one of the most secure buildings in the French capital, but he refused and pulled out a knife.

The attacker, who was said to be carrying two knives including the machete, was shot in the stomach and was said to be in a "serious condition".

The moment soldiers shot the attacker in the Louvre in Paris

A photo taken by a tourist on a mobile phone showed the moment the solider opened fire at the attacker in the museum.

French newspaper Le Parisien reported that the attacker was about 30 years old and had no identity papers on him.

Paris prefect Michel Cadot, who was at the scene soon after the attack, said: “He lightly wounded a soldier, and then five bullets were fired at him.”

Mr Cadot said the attack happened soon after 11am at the top of an escalator that leads down into the Carrousel du Louvre, an undergound shopping complex beneath the museum.

Police officers take position outside the Louvre museum following a terror alert
AP

The attacker was rushed to the Georges-Pompidou hospital, where his intensive care unit was under armed guard. The soldier, a paratrooper, suffered minor injuries.

A spokesman for the military force that patrols key sites in Paris says the four-man patrol of soldiers tried to fight off the assailant before opening fire.

Spokesman Benoit Brulon says the soldier who was slightly injured by the attacker was not the soldier who opened fire. He also said there were 1,000 people inside the museum.

A shop worker who was in the shopping centre at the time of the attack said: “We heard gunfire and reacted immediately – shutting down the grills in front of the shop, and retreating into the back.”

Louvre Paris Shooting - In pictures

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The 19-year-old man, who asked not to be named added: “Once the all-clear was given by the police we got out as quickly as possible. I’m on my way home.

“You always hear about the possibility of terrorism, especially in the area around the Louvre, but this was the real thing.”

Olivier Majewski was just leaving his scooter in the parking area beneath the Louvre when he saw a crush of people, 30 or 40, running and screaming “there’s been a terror attack”.

The 53-year-old said he hid for about 15 minutes before making his way upstairs. He said people were clearly scared. “They were panicked,” he said.

Anne Hidalgo, the Socialist Mayor or Paris, soon arrived at the scene to praise the “extreme efficiency” of the soldiers who foiled what could have been a very serious attack.

Evacuation: Visitors to the Louvre Museum were told to leave following the serious security alert
Twitter

Mr Cadot added that the attack happened at the top of an escalator that leads down into the shopping complex.

He said the knifeman "appeared to be acting alone", and that the words used pointed to extremist terrorism.

The suspect's rucksack was searched, but there was no sign of any explosives.

The soldier opened fire in the Carrousel du Louvre shopping area, which is also the entry area of the museum.

Police officers take position outside the Louvre museum
AP

It is always packed with thousands of tourists from all over the world, all of whom have their bags inspected before entry.

By 11am, the entire area was shut down, as hundreds of extra soldiers and police flooded into the area.

Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said the attack at the Louvre was clearly “terrorist in nature”, while the Paris prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into “attempted murder... related to a terrorist enterprise.”

Spokesman for the Interior Ministry Pierre-Henry Brandet said: “This event reminds us that the threat is present and that security is the business of all.”

Tourists wait for information inside the museum
Twitter via Wang Feng

A second suspect who may have been involved in the Louvre attack was later arrested, said police.

The Louvre is the most popular museum in the world with more than 8.6 million visitors last year and houses works including Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. People inside were held in secure parts of the building until they could be evacuated.

"We’ve been told to leave – it’s very frightening," said John O’Shea, a 52-year-old Canadian who was with his wife and young son.

"Everybody is talking terrorism, but we really don’t know what’s going on. Apparently a number of shots were fired."

The museum was completely sealed off and trains were not stopping at the Metro station.

Video footage taken at the scene showed police cordoning off the area and directing traffic away from the incident.

France is under a State of Emergency following a series of murderous attacks carried out by Islamic State and al-Qaeda terrorists.

On November 13 2015, 130 people were murdered in a single night of violence which included attacks on the Stade de France, the Bataclan concert venue and cafés and restaurants.

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