Paris Orly airport attacker shot dead

After perpetrating a carjacking in another town, the man then traveled to Paris’s Orly airport, where he attempted to seize an assault rifle from a female soldier before being shot and killed by two of her fellow soldiers during the ensuing struggle.

Le Roux also said the man is suspected of stealing a woman’s auto at gunpoint after shooting the officer.

A judicial source told Reuters that the man’s father and brother have been taken into police custody.

After the attack he sent his family a text saying: “I’ve screwed up, I’ve shot a policeman”.

“Put your weapons down, hands on your head, I’m here to die for Allah“.

“Given the violence that is shown in the (CCTV) pictures. you sense that he was determined to go through with it”.

He initially succeeded before she grabbed it back; then he snatched it a second time. A few minutes later, he hurled himself at three soldiers on patrol in its South Terminal, throwing a bag with a gas can at the floor and wielding his 9 mm revolver, said Paris prosecutor Francois Molins.

It is believed he was radicalized in prison. Belgacem’s first attack came at 6.50am on Saturday morning, when he was stopped for speeding by a police patrol in the northern Paris suburb of Garges-les-Gonesse. As he was showing his ID papers, the man pulled out a gun and fired bird shot at the three officers, injuring one of them in the face, police said.

Police fired back. The man fled in his auto.

After hijacking a vehicle early in the morning, Belgacem drove to the airport to conduct a terrorist attack.

They responded with “remarkable professionalism and self-control” to protect their colleague and the public, he said.

President Francois Hollande said the case had been turned over to anti-terrorism prosecutors and a number of operations were under way. No one was injured at the cafe.

“Later we heard several shots”, a witness told RT outside the airport. In a communique released by the presidency, Hollande welcomed the courage and efficiency shown by the police and the military in the face of the attacks committed by a risky individual.

Flights were suspended from both terminals of the airport and some flights were diverted to Charles de Gaulle airport north of the capital, airport operator ADP said. He was wearing dark grey trousers and a white top.

A police operation is ongoing at Orly Airport, France’s National Police confirmed on Twitter.

Specialized brigades began inspecting for possible explosives or any other threats, while all airport activity was canceled and airlines announced delays and interruptions in their schedules.

The airport has been shut down after what the authorities said was an extremely serious incident and passengers not allowed to disembark. The force numbers 7,500 soldiers – half in Paris, half in the provinces.

The potential attacker did not have time to exchange fire with soldiers or police and was “neutralized quickly”, Brandet added. The attempted attack on Saturday echoed a similar incident that took place a little more than a month ago, when a man launched an attack on Sentinel soldiers outside the Louvre museum on February 3.

The incident comes as France remains on high alert following a series of extremist attacks that have claimed more than 230 lives since January 2015.