Two dead in Paris attack, including knifeman: security sources

French police secure a street after a man killed a passer-by in a knife attack in the heart of Paris and injured four others before being shot dead by police, according to French authorities in Paris, France, May 12, 2018. REUTERS

One person was killed and four injured in central Paris by a man armed with a knife, who was shot dead by police, security sources said.

The attack took place near the city's main opera house in an area full of bars, restaurants and theatres which were brimming on a weekend night.

The man attacked five people with a knife, one of whom died, police said. Two were in serious condition and all the victims are in a hospital.

Interior Minister Gerard Collomb hailed in a tweet the "sang-froid and reaction of the police who neutralised the attacker."

Police said the attacker's motives were still unknown.

A string of jihadist attacks have claimed the lives of over 245 people around France in the past three years.

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