A knife-wielding man who threatened passersby was shot dead by police on the island of Corsica today, the Associated Press reported.
The AP notes that the incident occurred amid heightened security measures in France during the holidays.
Police received a call around noon about a man threatening employees and customers with a knife at a store in the city of Ajaccio. When officers arrived on the scene, the 26-year-old man had already left the area, BTA said.
He was later found elsewhere in the city center. Officers ordered him to drop the weapon, but he did not obey. An electric shock was used, but this did not stop the man and he walked towards the officers with the knife, after which they opened fire. The attacker died at the scene despite the intervention of emergency services.
A police officer was slightly injured in the arm. The man's motives are not yet known.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said that "vigilance is at the highest level" during the holiday period and that he had ordered increased police patrols in public places.