News

Actions

Car rams police van on Champs-Elysees, armed suspect may be dead

Posted at 9:11 AM, Jun 19, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-19 11:32:34-04

PARIS – Police took down an armed man after a car intentionally rammed into a police van Monday on the iconic Champs-Elysees in central Paris, authorities said.

The small white car caught on fire after the collision and the driver may be dead, France’s interior ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet told reporters Monday afternoon.

The Paris prosecutor’s office has opened an anti-terror investigation into the incident, Brandet said.

About 20 police vans and multiple armed police surrounded a man on the ground. The incident took place at 3:40 p.m. local time (9:40 a.m. ET).

Authorities advised people to avoid the area.

In April, a man shot at police officers on the Champs-Elysees, killing one officer and wounding two others. Police shot and killed Karim Cheurfi as he tried to escape on the busy tourist boulevard.

Developing story. More to come.