A knife attack in Paris left seven people wounded on Sunday night, according to reports.
Three of the victims were standing outside a movie theater along the Canal de l’Ourcq when the attacker set upon them with a massive blade and “iron bar,” witnesses said.
The others were randomly targeted in the street.
“Nothing at this stage shows signs of a terrorist nature in these assaults,” police sources told the Agence France-Presse. They said the attacker was going after “strangers.”
Four of the victims suffered severe stab wounds and were rushed to the hospital in critical condition. Two are said to be British tourists.
French authorities arrested the suspect at the scene and are expected to charge him with attempted murder. Witnesses told AFP that after the initial stabbings, people started chasing the man through the street.
“There were around 20 people chasing him,” said Youssef Najah, who was walking nearby.
“They started throwing Petanque balls at him,” Najah added, describing the popular French game, which is similar to Bocce.
“Around four or five balls hit him in the head, but they weren’t able to stop him.”
The suspect appeared to be carrying a knife measuring 10-11 inches.
“[He] tried to hide behind two British tourists,” Najah said, referencing the two victims.
“We said to them: ‘Watch out, he has a knife.’ But they didn’t react.”
The attack is just the latest in a long line of knife rampages to go down in France this year. Terrorism, however, has been ruled out in almost every incident.
—With Post wires
A version of this report appears on NYPost.com.
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