In addition to being a crowded commuter centre, the Gare du Nord is where trains to northern France, London, and northern Europe leave.
According to a person familiar with the investigation, police were examining the stabbings as attempted murder and not as a terrorist assault. The reason behind the attack was not immediately apparent.
According to prosecutors, only one of the six victims was critically injured in the incident at 6:42 am (5:42 am GMT), while the other five only suffered minor wounds.
According to Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, the entire episode was over in less than two minutes.
What kind of weapon the assailant had employed was not immediately apparent. It was initially described as a bladed weapon by the police. Later, Darmanin claimed that it was a “threatening weapon” rather than a knife.
The unidentified attacker, according to Darmanin, is currently “between life and death” in a hospital. According to French media, he was shot in the chest.
Darmanin expressed gratitude to the police “for their swift and valiant response.”
He described how the knifeman was subdued within a minute of striking his first victim: “Without the extremely rapid intervention, there would surely be deaths.”
“At 6:42, the first acts were described. At 6:43, the police used their administrative weapon after his passage of violence,” he added.
According to officials, among the injured were a border police officer and several passengers. The attacker stabbed the cop in the back, but a bulletproof vest saved his life, according to Darmanin. According to French media, one victim had a significant shoulder blade injury and was evacuated for emergency care, while the other five victims only received minor injuries.
Authorities have not yet cited a specific motivation, including terrorism. Following a string of horrific assaults since 2015, France is still uneasy.
