The shocking incident took place in front of the private Leonard De Vinci university in the town of Courbevoie near Neuilly-sur-Seine the La Defense business district in the western suburbs of Paris.

The victim named John Dowling was stabbed repeatedly in the neck by his aggressor as he left the university to have lunch.

"It's a tragedy that affects the entire community. He was a language teacher who had been here for 20 years and was appreciated by everyone," said the head of the university Pascal Brouaye, adding that Dowling was about to retire.

He was a 66-year-old lecturer from Ireland who had been teaching at Leonard De Vinci for 20 years, according to reports, with the management of the university releasing a statement saying that he was "appreciated by all".

The tweet below shows the scene after the incident occurred.

Professeur qui aurait été poignardé devant le Pôle Leonard De Vinci

⚠️ Info à prendre avec des pincettes pic.twitter.com/qvXUBsYBg3 — RK🐯 (@iamrkvin) December 5, 2018

The attacker, a 37-year-old former student of Pakistani nationality, was arrested at the scene.

According to French press reports the aggressor had been denied accreditation for the 2017 academic year and was excluded from the institution.

Sebastien Tran, director of the school of management of the university said "He had a normal schooling in the first semester, but in the second semester, he did not validate his year and he was therefore excluded in August 2017."

Asked about the motive of revenge Tran told the media that this student was "unhappy to have been excluded", but insisted they were not aware of any "particular threat".

"We are extremely stunned and shocked," he added

The French Minister for Higher Education Frédérique Vidal ‏said: "Emotion and indignation as a professor has just been murdered at the Léonard-de-Vinci university center. We need to find out the circumstances surrounding his death during the investigation being conducted by the judicial police."

The police in the Hauts-de-Seine department are leading the investigation.

Students passed and present took to Facebook to express their shock and offer a tribute to the murdered lecturer.

"This teacher was known and loved by all, motivated, serious and positive. He was very helpful, and never hurt anyone. Mr. JOHN was one of the best teachers I had during my school days," said one student.