Breaking news:

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/04/20/europe/champs-elyses-in-paris-closed/index.htm...


French police officer, gunman killed on Champs-Elysees

By Ralph Ellis and Jim Bittermann, CNN

Updated 2049 GMT (0449 HKT) April 20, 2017



Paris (CNN)One police officer and an attacker were killed in a Thursday night shooting on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, the French Interior Ministry said.
A car stopped at 102 Champs-Elysees in front of a police van, ministry spokesman Pierre Henry Brandet said. A man emerged from the car and opened fire on the van with an "automatic weapon," he said. The police returned fire and killed the attacker.

The ministry said one police officer was killed. It's not known if the attacker was a man or a woman.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/20/paris-shooting-policeman-killed-on...

One police source said the attacker was “known to the authorities”. A search was under way at the attacker’s home east of Paris.

Donald Trump reacted to the news during a joint press conference with the Italian prime minister, Paolo Gentiloni, at the White House. “First of all, our condolences from our country to the people of France,” he said. “Again, it’s happening, it seems. I just saw it as I was walking in, so that’s a terrible thing.

“It’s a very, very terrible thing that’s going on in the world today. But it looks like another terrorist attack and what can you say? It just never ends. We have to be strong and we have to be vigilant and I’ve been saying it for a long time.”

The incident comes days before the first round of the French presidential election. Security had already been stepped up at political rallies this week after the arrest of two men on Tuesday suspected of plotting an “imminent and violent attack” in the run-up to Sunday’s vote.

There was no information on whether or not the Paris incident was linked in any way to the arrests earlier this week.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the shooting, the group's Amaq News Agency reported. It identified the attacker as one of its soldiers, naming him as Abu Yousif, a Belgian.

Bobby, do you think you could give the thread title a Monk-inspired brewing motif before Mothballs, Bwian and Pecker lob and wreck the joint?

Mr Hammer wrote on Apr 21^st, 2017 at 8:47am:



Those apologists will turn up soon.

Let me beat the apologists to the punch.

Not all Muslims are terrorists and not all terrorists are Muslims. We get it.

But, the more Muslims, the more terror. The way to describe Islamic immigration is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_dose_makes_the_poison

I guess the French gun laws are working well, the terrorists and criminals don't have any trouble getting guns that are outlawed.

Fuzzball wrote on Apr 21^st, 2017 at 11:33am:



Let's see if they can apologise for this?


http://edition.cnn.com/2017/04/20/europe/champs-elyses-in-paris-closed/index.htm...


The shooting happened about 9 p.m. local time (3 p.m. ET) when a car stopped at 102 Champs-Elysees in front of a police van, Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre Henry Brandet said.
A man emerged from the car and opened fire on the van with an "automatic weapon," killing one officer instantly, he said. The man "then ran away, managing to shoot and wound two other policemen. Other policemen engaged and shot and killed the attacker," Brandet said.

The slain officer was 30 years old, Molin said. One of the wounded officers was critically injured but is improving, he said. Also wounded was a female tourist.
The shooting shut down the famed Champs-Elysees, one of Paris' top tourist attractions and home to the iconic Arc de Triomphe monument. The avenue was clear of residents and tourists but teeming with security officers Thursday night.
It comes three days before French voters start elections for a new president. Candidates went ahead with a debate Thursday night.
France has been in a state of emergency since the 2015 Paris attacks, which left 130 people dead. Parliament voted in December to extend the extraordinary provisions to ensure the protection of upcoming presidential and general elections.
Security has been tight because of the vote. Just two days ago French authorities arrested two men in Marseille who were allegedly planning an attack in a run-up to the election.