A police officer from the Cannes police station, south of France, was the victim of a stabbing attack, on Monday morning.
His assailant has been “neutralised”, said French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin.
Around 6:30 am, in front of the Cannes police station, the attacker, who was claiming to act “in the name of the prophet”, opened the door of a parked police vehicle and stabbed the police officer “in the chest”, before going around the vehicle to attack “the captain,” reported AFP.
The officer was saved thanks to his bullet-proof vest, sources said.
“Victim of a stabbing, the police officer was fortunately not physically injured, thanks to his bulletproof vest,” Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Twitter.
“I am going there immediately this morning and I bring all my support to the national police and to the city of Cannes”, added Gerald Darmanin on Twitter.
The mayors of Cannes and Nice, David Lisnard, and Christian Estrosi have expressed their “support” for the police.
The attacker was severely injured by another police officer and was in serious condition.
French media reports said the suspect is an Algerian with an Italian residency permit. He was born in 1984 and was unknown to French authorities, according to media reports.
The French police are considering the incident as a terrorist attack.
“The terrorist trail is being considered,” a police source told AFP.
Since 2015, a wave of jihadist attacks has left more than 260 dead in France.
The five years-era of Emmanuel Macron’s five-year term has witnessed seventeen terrorist attacks.
Several of these attacks were carried out with knives and targeting the police, in accordance with the slogans of the jihadist group Islamic State (IS).
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