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. 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.
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.