A police officer opened fire on a sudanese migrant after he attacked three people with a knife in Clermont-Ferrand on Sunday, 5 July, according to French regional outlets ICI and France 3 Régions. The attack took place in the Carmes district shortly after 2pm, when officers received multiple calls reporting a man threatening passers-by with a large knife near the junction of Boulevard Jean-Baptiste Dumas and Avenue Barbier Daubrée.
A patrol located the suspect roughly an hour later, at which point he lunged at officers with the knife. One policeman fired his weapon to stop him. According to national police, three people suffered serious knife wounds in the attack, though their lives are not in danger; the suspect’s injuries are also not considered life-threatening.
According to Truth Times the suspect has been identified by police as a 34-year-old man born in Darfur, Sudan. Clermont-Ferrand prosecutor Eric Serfass said in a statement that the man had previous convictions in the city, and said that “at this stage, nothing suggests the incident was terrorist in nature.” An investigation has been opened by the Clermont-Ferrand prosecutor’s office, with forensic and judicial police teams sent to the scene. National police said the officer’s use of force “appears to be a clear case of self-defence,” though this will need to be confirmed by the investigation.
