Paris - Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has said that security forces, including elite units, have been fully mobilised ahead of Sunday's presidential poll after a gunman opened fire in the French capital killing a police officer and injuring two others. "Nothing must be allowed to impede the fundamental democratic process of our country," he said after an emergency security cabinet meeting. So-called Islamic State (IS) has said one of its "fighters" carried out the attack. A car pulled up alongside a police bus just before 21:00 (19:00 GMT) and a man got out, opening fire on the bus with an automatic weapon, Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said. After killing an officer, the man attempted to run away while shooting at other officers, two of whom he injured, the spokesman added. He was then shot dead by security forces.
Terrified eyewitness later recounted scenes of panic as they ran for cover after hearing gunfire.
The whole of the Champs Elysees was evacuated. Because of its worldwide renown and its large number of visitors, the avenue has long been seen as a potential target, the BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris reports.
Overnight, a property in the eastern Parisian suburb of Chelles was searched by investigators, who want to know who else - if anyone - may have known about the gunman's plans. Paris prosecutor François Molins said shortly after the shootings that "the attacker's identity is known and has been verified".
"I won't reveal it, because investigations and raids are already under way, in particular to establish whether there is any evidence or not of complicity [in this attack]," he said, adding that more information would be released today. The gunman had been identified from papers left in his car, but French officials are yet to release his name. Local media say the 39-year-old lived in the city's suburbs, and had been seen as a potential Islamist radical. The gunman wounded two police officers before being shot dead by security forces on the Champs Elysees. A pump-action shotgun and knives were found in his car, the French TV station BFMTV reported. Another man suspected of possible links to the attack has turned himself in to Belgian police. French police have also taken three family members of the gunman into custody, Reuters reports, citing a legal source.(FA)
