A man was reportedly shot dead by French soldiers after he 'seized' a soldier's gun at Paris Orly Airport, French officials said on Saturday. The attacker also opened fire at a police officer, Interior Minister Bruno le Roux said. He was killed in a shop after the attack in the airport's southern terminal.
Roux told reporters that the man was on a watch-list of radicalised individuals and had been involved in a shooting hours earlier in the north of Paris.
Interior Ministry spokesperson Pierre-Henry Brandet said that the attacker took refuge in a shop after seizing the weapon from the French soldier. "A man took a weapon from a soldier then hid in a shop in the airport before being shot dead by security forces," he said adding that an investigation into the incident has been launched.
Police also searched the area for bombs and explosives, but nothing was found. Around 3,000 passengers were also evacuated from the airport.
Flights were suspended from both the terminals of the airport, while some were diverted to Charles de Gaulle Airport situated in the north of the capital.
The soldier, whose gun the attacker seized, is a member of French Army's Opération Sentinelle, which deployed in the aftermath of the January 2015 Charlie Hebdo shooting to face the terrorist threat and to protect the sensitive "points." It was reinforced after the November 2015 Paris attacks.
