According to French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, the suspect attacked three women aged 19, 24 and 36. All three were taken to a hospital for treatment; two of them suffered serious injuries.
One was hit in the lower back, the other in the abdomen. The mayor of the northwest 17th district where the stabbings occurred, Geoffroy Boulard, said on X (formerly Twitter) that one of the three was pregnant.
Witnesses said the man, with long black hair wearing a cream tracksuit, was seen walking with two large knives and suddenly attacking people on the street.
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A video, going viral on social media, shows the same man lying on the ground immobilised by bystanders, while the two knives are lying nearby on a pedestrian crossing.
“It is Allah who commanded me,” the man lying on the floor says.
???????????? BREAKING:
PREGNANT WOMAN AMONG 3 STABBED IN PARIS KNIFE ATTACK
3 women, including 1 believed to be pregnant, were stabbed near Porte de Clichy in Paris this morning. 1 victim is in critical condition. All were taken to hospital.
A 31-year-old man with reported mental…
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) July 27, 2026
A bystander, 26-year-old Mohamed-Ali Bouhadjar, said he saw the attacker stab a woman and immediately called for people to help stop him.
“When I saw him stab a woman in the back, I started shouting, ‘Come on, let’s stop him!’ Several people stepped in,” he told Reuters, adding that several people rushed towards him.
Bouhadjar added that one person threw a suitcase at him, forcing him to drop the knives. After that, he and others grabbed the man, knocked him down and held him until police arrived. Off-duty police officers also helped restrain the suspect.
ALSO READ | Mamdani plans to offer 30% discount on meat and produce at city-owned grocery stores‘Interior Minister Nunez praised the officer’s action, calling it a courageous act.
“I pay tribute to him, it was a courageous act,” he said.
The motive for the attack remains unknown, Nunez said, adding that police could not verify the identity of the attacker. He referred only to him making ‘incoherent statements,’ and warned against jumping to any conclusions regarding a motive.
“We must obviously remain very cautious regarding the motives behind this extremely violent act. I firmly condemn this act, and we are told that the individual is making incoherent statements,” Nunez told reporters.
The French national anti-terrorist prosecutor’s office said it was ‘in observation’ over whether to open a formal investigation into the attack.
The incident comes two days after an Islamist extremist rammed a rented minivan into a Pride parade in Berlin, killing one woman and injuring 29 others.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
First Published: Jul 28, 2026 12:15 PM IST