Suicide Attack: Champs-Élysées terror in Paris as armed driver smashes car into police van, car filled with weapons and gas bomb

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The dramatic moment a French police officer checks for a suicide bomb as he cuts the clothes off a driver who has just rammed a police van on the Champs-Élysées

• Car burst into flames moments after impact in the Paris tourist hotspot which is the main shopping district
• The driver, who police believe to be dead, was carrying a gun when he crashed into the police van deliberately
• Witness said he heard shots being fired and saw smoke coming from the car after the collision this afternoon 
• People were seen fleeing the area as police officers armed with machine guns attempted to get them to safety

BREAKING: Champs-Élysées terror in Paris as armed driver smashes car into police van THE Champs-Élysées area has been surrounded by police in Paris following a suspected attempted terror attack.
By Zoie O’Brien

The Express, Jun 19, 2017

An armed driver who slammed a car into a police van has likely 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.

Brandet said it was very likely that the driver, who had been armed, was dead.

A police bomb squad is also present.

TWITTER

Champs-Élysées surrounded by police in Paris as France under terror fears

One witness, who was just 20 metres from the scene, said: “Large bangs followed by what sounded like shots fired near a car with smoke coming out of it on Champs Elysees.”Armed officers have been pictured surrounding a police cordon after reports of a man on the ground.Some reports suggest he was dragged from the car.An image has now appeared of a bloodied man lying face down on the floor, while the body is searched by a bomb robot.Police in Paris are asking people to stay clear of the area.

REUTERS

Champs Elysees attack: Police arrest man in Paris

RUTERS

Police surround area of the Champs Elysees shopping district in Paris

Nearby, the theatre Marigny was evacuated, local reports suggest.The Champs-Elysées-Clémenceau metro station was also closed.France has been in a state of emergency since the Bataclan terror attacks in November 2015, in which 130 people were killed by ISIS supporters.During the last French elections a police officer was shot on the Champs-Élysées.

REUTERS

Champs-Elysees: The current scene after police van smashed into by car

REUTERS

Terror in France: French police in suspected terror attack investigation in Paris

Twitter

A police car has reportedly been hit by another vehicle in the Champs-Élysées area

Earlier in June an Algerian Islamist attacked a police officer with a hammer in front of Notre-Dame de Paris.