(LONDON and PARIS) — A man who left at least six people injured in an attack at the Gare du Nord station in Paris early Wednesday morning was shot by police and hospitalized, authorities said.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Twitter that “an individual injured several people this morning at the Gare du Nord. He was quickly neutralized. Thank you to the police for their effective and courageous response.”
The alleged attacker is alive and has been hospitalized, authorities said. The six injured people were also taken to the hospital, Darmanin said at a news conference at the station, where he was flanked by armed police officers. An officer was injured during the attack, he said.
The attack began at about 6:42 a.m. local time, with police responding within a minute, Darmanin said. The suspect, who did not appear to say anything prior to the attack, was shot three times by police, the minister told reporters.
“The suspect suddenly began, for no apparent reason at this stage, to strike a first victim with his weapon,” the Paris public prosecutor’s office said in a statement. The first victim was struck 20 times, it said.
The victims included two men, aged 36 and 41, and three women, aged 40, 47 and 53, who were using the station, the office said. A 46-year-old policeman assigned to the border police at the Gare du Nord was also injured. The 36-year-old man remains hospitalized, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said they are investigating all possible leads. Investigators haven’t yet ruled terrorism out as a motive, they said. The weapon, which has been seized, was a metal hook, according to the Paris Prosecutor’s Office.
“I confirm that an investigation has been opened by the Paris prosecutor’s office,” the Paris Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement obtained by ABC News. “The investigations were entrusted to the judicial police. The provisional assessment is 6 people injured including one in absolute emergency. The suspect was hospitalized after being shot several times by police.”
The suspect is believed to be a man in his 20s born in Libya or Algeria, the prosecutor’s office said.
Paris Gare du Nord is one of the biggest and busiest train stations in Europe. It serves the northern suburbs of Paris and is a terminus on the London to Paris Channel Tunnel route.
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.
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