Man shot dead after taking soldier's gun and at Orly Airport, Paris
French police secure the area at Paris' Orly airport, where security forces shot dead a man who took a weapon from a soldier. Photo: AFP
​A man has been shot dead after grabbing a soldier's gun at Orly airport in Paris, French officials say.Parts of the airport were evacuated and passengers were not allowed to disembark after witnesses reported hearing shots.
"We had queued up to check in for the Tel Aviv flight when we heard three or four shots nearby," traveller Franck Lecam said.
Officials said the man approached a group of soldiers patrolling the airport's southern terminal and made off with the gun into a shop.
At that point shots were fired and the man was killed. His motivation was not yet known. No-one else was hurt.
A bomb sweep was under way at the airport to make sure the dead man was not wearing an explosive belt, Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet told FranceInfo.
Orly is Paris' second largest airport.
Police warned people to stay away from the security cordon. All flights in and out of the airport had been suspended.Meanwhile, a police officer was shot and injured during a vehicle check in the northern suburbs of Paris. The suspect escaped in a vehicle.
Police had not confirmed if the incident was linked to the Orly incident, but French media said a car used by the suspect was later found abandoned at the airport.
In an incident last month, a man wielding knives lunged at soldiers at Paris's Louvre museum before being shot and injured.
- BBC / Reuters