4 People Killed By Knife-Wielding Attacker At Paris Police Headquarters

Enlarge this image toggle caption Kamil Zihnioglu/AP Kamil Zihnioglu/AP

Four Paris police employees were killed when a man armed with a knife went on a stabbing rampage Thursday at police headquarters, across from Notre Dame Cathedral.

Authorities said at a news conference that three men who were police officers and a woman who was an administrative worker died in the attack around noon local time. The assailant was shot and killed. It was not clear how many people might have been wounded.

French media say the suspected attacker was a "civil servant" employed with the police, according to NPR's Eleanor Beardsley. The suspect's identity has not been publicly released.

"That police precinct is a main site for processing administrative permits and papers, especially for foreigners," Beardsley says. "On any given day, there's a long line of foreigners from across the world waiting outside the station to get in and complete some part of the residency permit process. The station has tight security, and anyone who goes in must pass through a metal detector."

Parisian officials told reporters at the news conference that the suspect's home was being searched, adding that French anti-terrorism officials were involved in the early states of the investigation.

Earlier in the day, Loic Travers, an official with the police union Frances Alliance Police National, told reporters that at least five had been killed, including the attacker, according to a clip posted to Twitter.

Travers told reporters that the attack began in an office and then moved to other areas of the police headquarters.

French President Emmanuel Macron went to the police station and "wanted to show solidarity and support toward all police officers and employees," The Associated Press reports.

The metro station not far from where the attack took place was being closed off due to security concerns, according to Reuters, which cited a local transport authority.