An American woman has been stabbed to death by a homeless man in a Paris suburb after she reportedly angered him by taking photos of graffiti on a wall, according to French media.

The US citizen was stabbed six times in the attack that took police in the eastern suburb of Montreuil, Le Figaro newspaper reported.

Police did not immediately confirm the incident, but several local media reports said the woman, who was believed to be in her fifties, died a short time after the attack. Le Figaro newspaper said on its website that the woman was a tourist.

The attacker was arrested near the scene of crime a short time after the incident.

“I heard a woman screaming, then I saw a man walk out of Rue Marcel-Dufriche with a big knife in his hand,” the manager of a nearby garage told Le Parisien newspaper.

“He was threatening passers-by and was going back and forwards towards the victim. The police arrived very quickly,” he said.

“I could see the body of a woman on the ground near the wall with the graffiti,” he added.