A man armed with knives shot dead by municipal police in Saint-Étienne

A man armed with knives was shot dead by the municipal police this Tuesday late afternoon in Saint-Étienne, rue Charles-de-Gaulle, near the “Grand Gonnet” tram stop. According to our information, the man was holding two knives. He started to sow panic at Place Jean-Jaurès, running after passers-by, he even shouted “I’m going to cause carnage!”before fleeing via rue Charles de Gaulle when the police intervened. He then took a woman hostage by putting a knife to her throat near the Loire prefecture. She suffered minor stab wounds.

We do not know the identity of this man, nor his motivations, but, at this stage, the mayor of Saint-Étienne specifies that the terrorist trail has been ruled out. Two investigations were opened: one to understand the background of this man and the other for murder, since the individual died after the police officer shot him.

The time of the intervention, lThe neighborhood was cordoned off** and tram traffic interrupted.