Paris: Police Shoot Attacker outside Notre-Dame

French police have confirmed that they have shot and injured a suspect who allegedly attacked a police officer outside of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.

According to reports, the suspect attacked the police officer with a hammer, while shouting ‘this is for Syria’.

The police officer’s colleague, who was in the vicinity, intervened and opened fire on the suspect, hitting him in the chest. After the suspect was shot, police moved swiftly to cordon off the area as panic spread through the streets.

The suspect was taken to hospital approximately an hour after he was shot.

The police officer who was attacked sustained minor injuries to his neck and was also taken to hospital.

As police cordoned off the area, visitors already inside Notre-Dame were kept there for approximately an hour, until police gave the all clear.

According to French Minister of the Interior, Gerard Collomb, the suspect has been identified as a 40-year-old Algerian national, who was reportedly a doctoral student in information science at the University of Lorraine in the east of the country.

Police confirmed that the suspect was carrying kitchen knives in addition to the hammer and that he had claimed to be a ‘soldier of the caliphate’ of the Islamic State group (ISIS)

ISIS, however, has not claimed responsibility for the attack.

The attack comes just days after another terrorist attack in London, which left seven people dead and 48 others injured.

France has been on high alert since the attack in London on Saturday.