Skip to Content Facebook Feature Image

Paris police fatally shoot a knife-wielding man who tried to attack officers at Arc de Triomphe

News

Paris police fatally shoot a knife-wielding man who tried to attack officers at Arc de Triomphe
News

News

Paris police fatally shoot a knife-wielding man who tried to attack officers at Arc de Triomphe

2026-02-14 05:23 Last Updated At:05:30

PARIS (AP) — A man wielding a knife and scissors was fatally shot by police in Paris on Friday when he tried to attack an officer during a ceremony at the city's Arc de Triomphe monument, officials said.

The suspect, a French national born in 1978 who had previously been convicted in Belgium on terrorist-related charges, died at hospital from his injuries, the French counterterrorism prosecutor’s office said. Authorities did not release the suspect's name.

The attacker targeted an officer who was guarding the ceremony for relighting the eternal flame honoring unknown soldiers at the Napoleon-era landmark, according to a Paris police official. Another officer shot the attacker, the official said. No bystanders or police officers were injured in the incident, the official told The Associated Press.

Before the suspect had died, the French counterterrorism prosecutor’s office said it had opened an investigation on charges of attempted murder “in connection with a terrorist enterprise.”

The assailant had been sentenced to 17 years in prison by a court in Brussels in 2013 for attempted murders in connection with a terrorist enterprise against three police officers in the Belgian city of Molenbeek the previous year, according to the prosecutor's office.

First incarcerated in Belgium, he was then transferred to France in 2015 to serve the rest of his sentence. He was released from prison on Dec. 24, 2025, and had since been subject to judicial supervision and surveillance measures, the statement said.

The Arc de Triomphe is one of Paris' most famous sites, and sits atop the busy Champs-Elysees avenue.

A large police presence was visible Friday evening near the monument, which was closed to the public. The traffic circle surrounding the Arc de Triomphe remained open to vehicles.

The nearby metro station was closed for security reasons at the request of police, Paris public transport operator RATP said.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez expressed his “full support to the officer who intervened and acted with composure and determination in the face of the terrorist threat,” in a message posted on X.

FILE - A Paralympic Games symbol hangs at the Arc de Triomphe, June 28, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)

FILE - A Paralympic Games symbol hangs at the Arc de Triomphe, June 28, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)

FILE - French farmers park their tractor in front of the Arc de Triomphe during a protest Jan. 8, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva, File)

FILE - French farmers park their tractor in front of the Arc de Triomphe during a protest Jan. 8, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — A second suspect in the stray-bullet killing of a 7-month-old baby on a Brooklyn street was arrested Friday, police said, two days after a shooting the police commissioner called “a tragedy that truly shocks the conscience.”

Matthew Rodriguez, 18, was apprehended in Pennsylvania by New York Police Department detectives working with U.S. Marshals, the NYPD said.

The suspected shooter, 21-year-old Amuri Greene, was arrested shortly after the drive-by gunfire that killed Kaori Patterson-Moore. Greene pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges at an arraignment Friday night.

Kaori was in her stroller when a two men sped down a street on a moped Wednesday afternoon. Greene, riding on the back of the vehicle, fired into a group of people on a street corner, according to a court complaint.

Kaori's mother, Lianna Charles-Moore, told the New York Post that after hearing what she initially believed were fireworks, she was comforting her startled 2-year-old son — who had been grazed by a bullet — when she looked to her left and saw her baby daughter bleeding. The infant had been shot in the head.

“My daughter was innocent. She didn’t deserve that," Charles-Moore told the newspaper. She said her daughter was just about starting to crawl and had recently begun saying “Mama.”

Greene told police he was aiming for another person in the crowd, according to the court complaint.

Police said the moped sped and crashed into a car two blocks away, hurling both men off the vehicle. Greene was injured and soon was hospitalized in police custody, but the moped driver fled.

Authorities haven't yet released court papers that detail Rodriguez's alleged role. But they haven't indicated they were looking for anyone other than the gunman — alleged to have been Greene — and the moped driver.

Greene was being held without bail after his arraignment. A voice message seeking comment was left with his attorney.

Police didn't immediately have information on how the men are connected or where Rodriguez lives; no working telephone number for him could immediately be found. Police charges against him were pending.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch expressed heartbreak and outrage over Kaori's death.

“This is a terrible day in our city, a tragedy that truly shocks the conscience,” Tisch said at a news briefing Wednesday.

This image taken from video provided by the New York Police Department shows New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, flanked by Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, left, and Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny, speaking during a news conference, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in New York. (NYPD via AP)

This image taken from video provided by the New York Police Department shows New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, flanked by Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, left, and Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny, speaking during a news conference, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in New York. (NYPD via AP)

Recommended Articles