French Soldier Shoots Armed Attacker Outside Louvre Museum
PARIS (CBSNewYork/AP) -- One of the biggest tourist attractions in Paris was evacuated Friday after a soldier was attacked by someone carrying two machetes.
Police said when the man was told he couldn't enter a shopping mall near the Louvre Museum with two backpacks, he pulled out a knife and attacked.
A soldier shot the attacker five times after, police said, he shouted "Allahu akbar,'' or "God is great," seriously wounding him. The soldiers had been on patrol as part of heightened security following a string of terror attacks in Paris.
French investigators say the suspect has been living in both the United Arab Emirates and France on a tourist visa, CBS2's Jonathan Vigliotti reported.
No explosives were found in the suspect's bags. Masked counterterrorism police conducted several raids in Paris after Friday's attack.
French President Francois Hollande said there's no doubt the man wanted to commit a terrorist attack.
French Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said a second person also was arrested but it is unclear whether that person was linked to the attack.
About 250 people were inside the museum when it went into emergency lock down.
A couple from New York said they saw children crying and they immediately knew it was terrorism.
"That's what we're used to now," Lance Manus said. "I mean, we have to learn to live with it, be vigilant. So we listened to instructions from security guards, did what they told us."
The Louvre closed for the rest of the day for security reasons but will reopen Saturday.
On Twitter on Friday morning, President Donald Trump said, "A new radical Islamic terrorist has just attacked in Louvre Museum in Paris. Tourists were locked down. France on edge again. GET SMART U.S."
In New York, the NYPD said it is monitoring the situation.
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