Paris knife attack: what we know so far

Seven people were injured, four seriously, in seemingly random attacks by a knife-wielding man outside a Paris cinema on Sunday.

French authorities confirmed that they had arrested a suspect - believed to be an Afghan national - following the incident, in which two British tourists were hurt.

Deutsche Welle reports that the attacker “was carrying an iron bar and a knife when he began stabbing people” outside a cinema on the banks of the Bassin de la Villette, in the city’s 19th district, at around 11pm local time. Four of the victims are in a critical condition, the German newspaper adds.

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The BBC reports that people playing a game of petanque - a French bowling game - near the cinema “threw balls at the attacker to try to stop him”.

“Around four or five balls hit him in the head, but they weren’t able to stop him,” according to eyewitness Youssef Najah.

Police said that the suspect was believed to have psychiatric and drug issues, The Daily Telegraph reports. A police investigation has been launched for attempted murder, according to a judicial source.

“At this stage, nothing leads us to believe these attacks are of a terrorist nature,” a police source told The Guardian.

A spokesperson for the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: “We are urgently investigating this incident and are in close contact with the French authorities.”