Police shoot man dead after fatal stabbings in Paris park

PARIS — A man armed with a knife rampaged through a Paris park attacking passersby seemingly at random Friday, killing one person and injuring two others before police shot him dead, officials said.

The afternoon attack took place in Villejuif in the southern suburbs of Paris.

The man’s motives weren’t immediately clear. A witness said he saw the attacker stab one man and that he appeared to select victims at random.

“We heard screams,” said the witness, who gave only his surname, Dia. Police fired round after round in bringing him down, he added.

“We heard a first shot, someone shout ‘Drop your weapon!’ ” he said. Then “there were several shots fired.”

Police union official Yves Lefebvre said officers opened fire repeatedly because they feared the man was wearing an explosive belt and might blow himself up.