Terror in Marseille: Man With Knife Kills 2 at Train Station

Assailant shot and killed by paramilitary police during Sunday attack
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 1, 2017 11:45 AM CDT
Terror in Marseille: Man With Knife Kills 2 at Train Station
Investigative police officers near a body outside Marseille's main train station on Sunday in southern France.   (Claude Paris)

A man with a knife attacked people at the main train station in the southeastern French city of Marseille on Sunday, killing two women before paramilitary soldiers fatally shot the assailant, officials said. French police warned people to avoid the Saint Charles train station, tweeting that an operation was underway. Soldiers and police took up positions outside the station, which was evacuated, the AP reports. The incident is being treated as a terror attack, the city prosecutor's office told CNN. Three police officials said one woman was stabbed to death; two of the officials said the other woman's throat was slit. The assailant was shot dead by soldiers who were patrolling the station.

Interior Minister Gerard Collomb tweeted that he would travel to the scene. The Guardian notes that the soldiers who opened fire were from Operation Sentinelle, which was launched after the deadly terror attacks in France in 2015. The soldiers—whose numbers are said to range between 7,000 and 10,000—patrol major tourist sites, places of worship, train stations, schools, and airports across France. Earlier this month, four American college students were attacked with acid at the same train station in Marseille. At the time, French authorities said the assailant was suffering from a mental illness and it wasn't investigated as a terror attack. No further details were immediately given for this attack, including a motive. (More Marseille stories.)

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