A terrorist who was wearing a mock explosive vest was shot dead in Paris this afternoon after stabbing three people, killing a man who was trying to protect his wife.

Witnesses told local media the attacker was yelling 'Allahu Akbar' as he launched the assault in the Hautes-Bruyères park in the Villejuif suburb shortly after 2pm on Friday.

Police said the man appeared to be wearing an explosive vest and had made off towards a Carrefour supermarket just under a mile away where he was 'neutralised,' shot several times and died at the scene.

Mayor of Villejuif Franck Le Bohellec told Le Parisen the dead man was a 56-year-old who 'was walking with his wife when the attacker approached, he wanted to protect his wife and it was he who suffered the stab wound'.

The knifeman has been identified by French media as Nathan C. by his card details which say he was born in 1997 in Lilas, a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris.

Several sources said Nathan C. suffered from 'psychological problems.'

He was not being tracked as a religious zealot, although 'elements linked to religion' that 'suggested he had converted to Islam' were found among his personal effects, the local prosecutor's office said.

Two other victims have been rushed to Kremlin-Bicêtre hospital and remain in a 'critical condition', authorities said.

Scroll down for video.

The bloodbath took place in the suburb on Villejuif, some seven miles from the centre of the capital, shortly after 2pm on Friday (pictured: emergency services at the scene this afternoon)

French police and rescue team stand at a security perimeter at the Hautes-Bruyeres public park in Villejuif, near Paris today after the horrific rampage that left one dead

French police secure the park in Villejuif near Paris, France on Friday. The mayor of the neighbouring commune, L'Hay-les-Roses, Vincent Jeanbrun, told broadcaster BFM-TV that the attacker assaulted people in a park in Villejuif, then fled to a shopping centre in his area, L'Hay-les-Roses, and was shot by police there.

Police said the attacker had seemingly attacked four victims at random in the park before making off to a Carrefour supermarket just under a mile away where he was 'neutralised,' shot several times and died at the scene

Over 250 people have been killed by jihadists in France since 2015 The attack on the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine offices in January 2015 left 17 people dead inside and three outside. The day after the Charlie Hebdo attack, a man linked to the Islamic State (IS) group shot and killed a policewoman in a Paris suburb before taking hostages at a Jewish supermarket the following day, killing four more people. The deadliest came in November 2013, when 130 people died in bombings and shootings at Paris's Bataclan concert hall, several bars and restaurants, and the Stade de France sports stadium. In 2016, a man rammed a truck into a crowd in the Mediterranean resort of Nice on the July 14 national holiday, killing 86 people. He was shot dead by police. In December 2018, a man who swore allegiance to IS shot dead five people at a Christmas market in the eastern city of Strasbourg. Police shot and killed him after a two-day manhunt. Most recently, a police staff member who had converted to a radical version of Islam stabbed four colleagues to death at the Paris police headquarters in October. Advertisement

It is not clear how many others were caught up in the rampage. Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau told local media: 'In his murderous journey, the suspect tried to attack other victims who managed to avoid it.'

President Emmanuel Macron expressed support for the victims and said in a statement: 'We continue to fight determinedly against senseless violence.'

The attack came just four days before France marks the fifth anniversary of the killing of 12 people at satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris by two brothers vowing allegiance to Al-Qaeda.

Footage taken at the scene showed armed police moving through the car park of the supermarket and firing shots at the attacker who was seen lying in the middle of a road.

The victims are believed to have been targeted at random and a motive has not yet been established.

A police union source said: 'Four people were attacked by an individual in the Hautes-Bruyères park, near a supermarket.

'The attacker was armed with a knife and was lashing out at anyone he could.'

He added: 'The attacker appeared to be wearing an explosives vest but was not wearing any shoes when he carried out the attacks.

'Victims were falling down around him, while others raised the alarm ... Members of the anti-criminal brigade were first on the scene, and shot a number of rounds at the man. He was declared dead at the scene.'

A specialist mine-clearance team inspected the man's dead body after his death and said it was 'clear of explosives', said the investigating source.

Armed police in body armour secure the scene at Villejuif near the Paris city centre this afternoon

Police officers move through the park today, the bomb squad arrived at the scene and established there was no explosive threat

Police officers at the park today where the attacker began his assault, lashing out at anyone he could with blades

Armed police head into the Hautes-Bruyères park after a man launched a terrifying knife attack, targeting passers-by seemingly at random

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez and Paris police chief Didier Lallement later visited the park, around seven miles from the city centre, which is hugely popular with young families.

Maoyr Franck Le Bohellec said: 'In these difficult times, let's remain united and careful.'

It follows a series of bomb, gun and knife attacks carried out by Islamic State and al-Qaeda operatives in France, dating back to early 2015

The deadliest single terrorist attack ever in the country came in November 2015 when 130 people were killed in Paris.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez and Paris police chief Didier Lallement later visited the park, around seven miles from the city centre, which is hugely popular with young families

Ambulances at the scene of the attack today on the outskirts of Paris

Paramedics in the suburbs of Paris today at a park around seven miles from the city centre

Paris police secure the park on Friday after the attack was launched shortly after 2pm

Ambulances at the scene of the attack today. Franck Le Bohellec, the Mayor of Villejuif, said: 'In these difficult times, let's remain united and careful'

Police officers secure the scene. The attacker made off towards a Carrefour supermarket just under a mile away where he was 'neutralised,' shot several times, he died at the scene.

Suicide bombers pledging allegiance to ISIS targeted the Stade de France, cafes, restaurants and the Bataclan music venue, where 90 died.

Earlier in the year, two Paris-born gunmen linked to Al-Qaeda broke into the offices of the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine, leaving 17 people dead inside and three outside.

In July 2016, 86 people were called and more than 400 injured when a 19 tonne truck was deliberately driven into crowds on the seafront promenade at Nice, in the South of France.

The terrorist turned out to be a Tunisian immigrant who was shot dead by police.

During the same month, two Isis terrorists murdered an 86-year-old Catholic priest during a church service in Normandy.

Emergency services at the scene this afternoon

Police and ambulance vehicles at the scene today in the quiet Paris suburb of Villejuif

Four people were stabbed in the vicious attack in the Parisian suburbs, one remains in intensive care

There have been frequent knife attacks on the forces of law and order, leading to the deaths of serving police.

In October of this year, a radicalised computer operative working at the Paris Prefecture stabbed four of his colleagues to death.

The attacker - who was also shot dead - turned out to be a Muslim convert who kept extremist Al-Qaeda and Islamic State literature and images on his computer.

Prosecutors have opened an enquiry into the latest attack.