Photo taken on March 18, 2017 shows the highway entrance to Orly Airport in Paris, France. A man was shot dead after trying to seize the weapon from a soldier at Orly Airport Saturday morning and no victim is reported, confirmed the French Interior Ministry. (Xinhua/Han Bing)
PARIS, March 18 (Xinhua) -- A man was shot dead after seizing the weapon from a soldier at Orly Airport on Saturday morning and no passengers were injured, confirmed the French Interior Ministry.
At about 8:30 a.m. local time (0730 GMT), the man seized the weapon from a solider of Sentinelle operation at Orly south terminal and hid in a nearby airport shop, before being shot dead by the security forces, Interior Ministry spokesperson Pierre-Henry Brandet told AFP.
The airport was then evacuated and the deminers were on site to make sure that the man was not wearing a belt of explosives.
The counter-terrorist unit RAID (Recherche Assistance Intervention Dissuasion) has also been dispatched to the site.
The police operation is ongoing, said the French national police at their Tweeter account. They asked the passengers to respect the safety rules and avoid the airport area.
Meanwhile, a gunman shot at three police officers when they were trying to control his car at Stains, north of Paris, on Saturday morning, said local television BFMTV. The man then fled.
Authorites suspected a possible link to the incident at Orly Airport.