French police on Monday detained a man accused of attacking three women with kitchen knives in Paris before bystanders and an off-duty police officer overpowered him, Reuters reported.
The attack took place near Porte de Clichy, where the suspect allegedly stabbed three women aged 19, 24 and 36. Two of the victims suffered serious injuries, French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told reporters.
The report, citing verified video said it showed a man with long black hair, dressed in a cream tracksuit and holding two large kitchen knives, attempting to stab a young woman. It was not immediately clear whether she was injured.
Mohamed-Ali Bouhadjar, 26, who recorded and posted the footage on Snapchat, told Reuters that he and other bystanders intervened after witnessing the attack.
"When I saw him stab a woman in the back, I started shouting, 'Come on, let's stop him!'" he said. According to Bouhadjar, one person threw a suitcase at the attacker, causing him to drop the knives, after which several people pinned him to the ground.
Another video clip verified by Reuters showed the suspect being restrained by bystanders on a pedestrian crossing with the two knives lying nearby. In the footage, the man can be heard saying, "It is Allah who commanded me."
Nunez said the suspect was taken into custody by an off-duty police officer, praising his actions as "courageous". Authorities have not established a motive for the attack and were unable to verify the suspect's identity, with the minister saying his statements during the arrest were "incoherent".
France's national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office said it was assessing whether to open an investigation into the incident, Reuters reported.
