Seven people were wounded (four seriously) on Sunday evening after an Afghan national went on a knife rampage in Paris. The attacker, a 31-year-old man, started attacking passersby outside a cinema at around 11pm local time.Police who launched an investigation, have reassured the public they do not believe there is a terrorist motive behind attack.
Newspaper reports said that passersby were at first attacked with an iron bar, but the attacker switched to the knife after throwing the bar at one of his victims. As the attack took place near where a petanque game was being played (a popular French street game where players throw the wooden or metal balls) the players threw the balls at the attacker’s head to stop him. The attacker was hospitalized due to head injuries, which may have been caused by up to five balls striking him.
Two British tourists were among the people who were injured. It is reported they were stabbed in the head, legs, and upper chest. The other foreign victim was an Egyptian national, and the rest were all French nationals.
The attack comes after six victims were stabbed in an attack in northern Paris, when a drunk man started attacking people at random.