Police in a Paris suburb shot a man dead after he went on a rampage with a knife, killing one person and injuring two others. French officials gave no motive for his attack but believe he would have claimed more lives.
Paris police
A man stabbed and killed one person and injured two others in a knife attack on the outskirts of Paris on Friday before being shot dead by police.

The incident took place at around midday in a park in the town of Villejuif, about eight km (5 miles) south of central Paris, prosecutors said.

Franck Le Bohellec, the commune's mayor, identified the person who died as a 56-year-old local who was walking in the park with his wife at the time of the incident.

The two injured victims were being treated at a local hospital, said Laure Beccuau, the prosecutor whose office is examining the incident.

"The suspect tried to attack other victims during his murderous spree, who were able to escape," Beccuau told reporters.

After stabbing the victims in the park, the attacker headed towards a shopping center in the neighboring suburb of L'Hay-les-Roses, where he was shot and killed by police.

Man behind the attack

A spokesperson for prosecutors said the attacker had a history of mental illness and had been admitted to hospital a few months ago, according to Reuters. The attacker was also undergoing psychiatric treatment.

Religious documents, including a Koran, were found among his belongings but the spokesperson said that there is no evidence the attacker had been influenced by radical Islamists.

The attacker, only identified as Nathan C., was born in 1997 in Lilas, a northeastern suburb of Paris. The spokesperson also said one witness described hearing the attacker yell, "Allahu Akbar," or "God is great," during the attack but stressed that authorities "don't have evidence that would allow us to suppose there has been a radicalization."

The attacker had no criminal record and was not known to intelligence services, the spokesperson added.

Attacker would have claimed more lives

Officials praised the actions of police, saying it was likely the attacker would have claimed more victims.

"Luckily, the police were quickly alerted and made their way rapidly to the scene where they neutralized him by killing him," L'Hay-les-Roses Mayor Vincent Jeanbrun told French broadcaster BFMTV.

Laurent Nunez, the deputy interior minister, visited the scene and called the actions of the police "extremely courageous."