Story highlights Four of the driver's family members are being held by police

Five attacks in four months on security forces in Paris

Paris (CNN) Tourists strolling along Paris' famous Champs-Elysees on Monday afternoon watched in horror as a car rammed into a police van -- and some witnessed the car burst into flames as police grabbed the man inside and put him on the ground.

The armed driver deliberately plowed into the police vehicle and later died, authorities said.

"We were waiting to cross the street and suddenly heard an explosion and the car was in flames," said Eugenio Morcilla, who captured video after the collision. "The police acted very quickly."

Early Tuesday, the Paris prosecutor's office confirmed four of the driver's family members were being held by police.

@rtve el momento después de la explosión del coche en #ChampsElysees, forcejean con el sospechoso para sacarlo pic.twitter.com/o4km0SByTJ — Eugenio Morcillo (@elugeescojonudo) June 19, 2017

It's the latest in a series of terror attacks this year against security forces in the French capital. The Paris prosecutor's office has opened an anti-terror investigation.

Read More</s>French police have confirmed an incident on the Champs-Élysées, Paris Monday afternoon after reports of a police van having been hit by a car.

Agence France-Presse reports that a car was in flames and had exploded after it hit a police van on the famous Parisian street. Associated Press reports the driver of the suspect vehicle was “downed” by police after he hit the police vehicle Monday afternoon.

France’s Le Figaro reports sources who state the car exploded upon impact and that the driver, who was seriously injured in the incident, was carrying a gun. There were no other injuries or fatalities.

Paris police have instructed members of the public to avoid the area.

A central Paris boulevard connecting to the Arc de Triomphe landmark, the Champs-Élysées is the site of an April terror attack in which a police officer was shot dead at point-blank range by an Islamist killer.</s>A car deliberately hit a police van before bursting into flames on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in central Paris, police officials say.

The driver, who was on a security watchlist, died in the incident. Police found a Kalashnikov rifle, handguns and gas bottles in the car.

“Security forces have been targeted in France once again,” Interior Minister Gérard Collomb said, calling it an “attempted attack”.

No-one else was hurt in the incident.

France is under a state of emergency after being hit by a wave of deadly terrorist attacks in recent years.

A policeman was shot dead and two others were wounded in an attack on the Champs-Élysées in April, just days before the first round of the presidential election.

Monday’s incident occurred a day after the end of France’s parliamentary elections, which saw President Emmanuel Macron’s party win a majority.

A white car could be seen standing in the middle of the empty avenue with one door open and sniffer dogs were sent in, the BBC’s Hugh Schofield reports from Paris.

Our correspondent says there are always many police and gendarme vehicles near the spot, as it is next to the local police station.

Bomb disposal experts were sent to the scene to inspect the vehicle, a Renault Mégane.

Mr Collomb, who visited the site, said weapons and explosives found inside “could potentially blow this car up”.

Reports say officers had to smash the car windows to pull the driver out.

Sources close to the investigation said the driver of the car had been on a security watchlist since 2015 for membership of a “radical Islamist movement”.

Police were reported to be searching the man’s home in the Essonne area south of Paris.

Police earlier warned people to respect a security cordon around the area.

The anti-terrorist section of the prosecutor’s office has opened up an investigation into the incident, which happened close to the Élysée Palace, the president’s official residence, and the US embassy. BBC News</s>A car carrying weapons and explosives rammed a police car in an "attempted attack" and then burst into flames on the Champs Elysees in Paris.

Police officers seal off the access to Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, France.

The driver was killed in the incident that the French interior minister says was deliberately aimed at security forces.

A kalashnikov rifle, handguns and gas bottle were found in the car.

Police say the situation is now under control and no one else was hurt.

France is in a state of high alert after a series of attacks in the capital.</s>Police swarmed the Champs-Élysées in Paris, after a vehicle rammed into a police truck and burst into flames in the popular tourist spot. Authorities say they believe the crash was an intentional attack, and the car driven by the assailant may have been packed with explosives. But besides the driver — who police say is now dead — no cops or bystanders suffered any injuries.

Witnesses reporting seeing the alleged driver on the ground after the crash, which matches initial reports that said the motorist was “downed.” Police say the suspect was armed, and had been knocked out and gravely injured in an encounter with police. Later, officials said the suspect had died from the the severity of his wounds. The assailant has not been identified; Reuters reports that he was known to authorities.

At least part of the Champs-Élysées has been evacuated with the police operation underway. A bomb squad is casing the area. France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor has officially opened a case, reports the Associated Press. France, and Paris in particular, has witnesses multiple extremist-inspired terror incidents over the past year. Monday’s incident could potentially be the second such attack since President Emmanuel Macron won the presidency. In April, days before the election, ISIS took credit after a man opened fire at police on the Champs-Élysées, killing one police officer. In June, an ISIS-inspired terrorist lunged at a police officer near Notre Dame, in Paris, with a hammer, before he was shot and injured by police. ISIS propaganda has encouraged its followers to wage attacks in the west during Ramadan; this marks the last week of the Muslim holy month.

And if a deliberate attack, it would come less than 24 hours after a terror incident in London, in which a 48-year-old white man rammed a van into a crowd of Muslim worshippers leaving a mosque in what early evidence suggests was an extremist right-wing attack. It is the third such deadly assault with a vehicle in London since March, and the fourth major terror incident in the United Kingdom.

This post has been updated throughout.</s>An armed driver who slammed a car into a police van has been shot dead, authorities in France said.

France's Interior Ministry confirmed emergency services are dealing with a "security incident" at the world-famous Champs-Élysées.

Paris police on Monday said they are "in control" after armed police stormed the shopping district in the city centre.

Witnesses say a police van was hit by another vehicle which was the on fire sparking the major response.

"It looks like this was a deliberate act," Interior Ministry Spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet told reporters at the scene.

The Paris prosecutor's counter-terrorism unit said it had opened an investigation into the incident, which occurred only a short walk away from the Elysees presidential palace and the US embassy.

Brandet said it was very likely that the driver, who had been armed, was dead.</s>A man carrying guns and explosives died when he rammed a car into a police van Monday on Paris' famed Champs-Élysées in what officials characterize as a deliberate attack.

But upon collision, the car — and not the van — burst into flames, NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports from Paris. The man died even though police were able to extricate him from the burning car.

No officers or bystanders were hurt.

It's not clear what led the man to ram the van. But French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb called it an "attempted attack" on security forces, and France's anti-terrorism prosecutor has opened an investigation.

Police tell The Associated Press that the suspect is from a suburb of Paris and had been "flagged for links to extremism." He is said to be in his early 30s.

Guns — including a Kalashnikov — as well as bottles containing gasoline were found in the car, according to French media.

Collomb said Monday's incident shows that France remains at high risk of a terrorist attack.

It also marks the second time this year that Paris' most famous avenue, renowned for its shopping, dining and monuments, has been the scene of bloodshed. As The Two-Way has reported, a man opened fire on police in April killing one officer and wounding two others. ISIS claimed responsibility for that attack.

Last summer, on Bastille Day, ISIS "soldier" Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel drove a cargo truck through the crowds on a promenade in Nice, mowing down and killing 84 people and injured hundreds of others before police shot him dead.

And just hours before the Champs-Élysées incident, in another suspected terrorist attack, a driver rammed a van into pedestrians exiting a mosque in north London, killing at least one person.</s>A car exploded and burst into flames after it crashed into a police van on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris on Monday, police and investigators said, adding that the driver was armed. The driver of the car is dead, France's interior minister said.

Gerard Collomb said the incident had been "an attempted attack." Police sources earlier said that a Kalashnikov rifle, handguns and gas bottles were found in the Renault Megane.

A source close to the investigation said the driver was "seriously injured". A French security official says that the attacker on Champs-Elysees avenue is probably dead and the bomb squad is on the scene.

Police said earlier that the driver was "on the ground... unconscious."

Police and judicial sources said they suspect the incident was a deliberate act.

The incident came just two months after a policeman was shot and killed on the world-renowned avenue, three days before the first round of France's presidential election.

A note praising the Islamic State group was found next to the body of the gunman, Karim Cheurfi, in that incident.

Police later found other weapons in Cheurfi's car including a shotgun and knives.

Interior ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet says the driver whose car exploded as he tried to ram a police vehicle is "most probably" dead. Brandet said the attacker appeared to have acted deliberately.</s>A car crashed into a police van Monday on the Champs-Élysées avenue in Paris before bursting into flames, police said.

The driver is "on the ground... unconscious," a police source said, without indicating whether the incident was an accident or a deliberate act.

No casualties have been reported in the incident.</s>(PARIS) — A man rammed his car into a police vehicle in Paris' Champs-Elysees shopping district Monday, prompting a fiery explosion, and was likely killed in the incident, authorities said. France's anti-terrorism prosecutor opened an investigation.

No police officers or passers-by were hurt, the Paris police department said. It is unclear why the attacker drove into police, though the Interior Ministry spokesman said the incident was apparently deliberate.

Two police officials told The Associated Press that a handgun was found on the driver, who they said was badly burned after the vehicle exploded. They spoke on condition of anonymity to reveal details of the incident, the second this year on the city's most famous avenue, which is popular with tourists.

An attacker defending the Islamic State group shot and killed a police officer on the Champs-Elysees in April, days before a presidential election, prompting an extensive security operation. France is under a state of emergency after a string of deadly Islamic extremist attacks.

On Monday, police cordoned off a broad swath of the Champs-Elysees avenue that cuts through central Paris, warning people to avoid the area. Bomb squads are combing the area and the nearest subway station is closed to the public.

Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said that the man is "most probably" dead.

Eric Favereau, a journalist for Liberation newspaper who was driving a scooter behind the gendarmes, said he saw a car blocking the convoy's path, then an implosion in the vehicle. Favereau wrote that the gendarmes smashed open the windows of the car while it was in flames and dragged out its occupant. Other gendarmes used fire extinguishers to put out the flames. The account didn't say what happened to the occupant of the car afterward.

A man could be seen lying on his stomach on the ground immediately after the incident, wearing a white shirt and dark shorts.
A car carrying firearms and gas bottles deliberately rammed a police vehicle on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, France, subsequently bursting into flames. The driver, who was on a security watchlist, was shot dead.