A man reportedly shouting “Allah Akbar “ and wearing a fake explosives belt has been shot dead outside a police station in Paris - a year after the jihadist massacre at Charlie Hebdo magazine.
The man attacked and slighty injured a policeman outside the station in the Goutte d’Or district in northern Paris.
France's Interior Ministry said he "may have" a explosive belt and that he was said to have yelled "Allah Akbar" before being killed by police, according to AFP.
Experts subsequently examined the apparent suicide belt and "found it to be a fake".
The street, in the 18th arrondissement not far from the Gare du Nord, was cordoned off this afternoon while exlosives’ experts attempted to defuse a suicide belt that the man was wearing.
Paris was on high alert for a possible terrorist attack today a year after the Kouachi brothers attacked Charlie Hebdo magazine murdering 12 people.
Two officials say the man had wires extending from his clothing, and an explosives squad is on site.
The two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing, said the shooting came shortly after noon on Thursday, the anniversary of the attacks against the Charlie Hebdo newspaper.
Minutes before, French President Francois Hollande had paid homage to police officers killed in the line of duty, including three police shot to death last January.
Police said the neighborhood in northern Paris, which has a large immigrant population, was locked down after the shooting.
Courtesy The Independent
