Paris hammer attacker shouted ‘this is for Syria’

Paris prosecutors open a counterterrorism investigation after an unidentified assailant attacked police with a hammer outside Notre Dame Cathedral.

The attacker was shot and wounded in the incident. He was taken to hospital with chest injuries, according to a police source.

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb says the attacker cried “this for Syria” as he went after officers patrolling an esplanade in front of the famous landmark.

The Paris prosecutor’s office says the investigation was opened immediately after the attack.

Collomb says police found kitchen knives, a hammer and other unsophisticated weapons on the wounded assailant.

It was the latest of several attacks in France targeting security officers. In April, an attacker opened fire on a police van on Paris’ Champs Elysees, killing one and gravely wounding two others. The attacker was shot dead by police.

— Agencies