Police in Paris are investigating an attack on a police station as potential terrorism on the one-year anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attacks.
The attacker, armed with a butcher knife, was wearing a fake explosives belt, French officials told the Associated Press. The man had wires extending from his clothing and cried out “Allahu akbar” or “God is great” in Arabic before being shot to death by officers at the police station in the Rude de la Goutte d’Or, Luc Poignant, according to a police union official.
According to a Paris prosecutor, the man carried a mobile phone, a sheet of paper with the Islamic State flag and a claim of responsibility.
Another police official said they are viewing the incident as “more likely terrorism” than a standard criminal act.
The investigation is ongoing – though Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said they believe he is the only person involved – and the attacker remains unidentified.
The police sealed off the area around the station after the neighborhood around it went into lockdown around noon local time.
The attack Thursday came on the same day France was marking one year since Islamic extremists attacked the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, killing 11 people, and setting off two days of terrorism, including a deadly siege on a kosher supermarket.
