Paris knife attacker killed 4 police officers at police headquarters

Paris-Four police officers were killed on Thursday at Paris Police Headquarters when an employee attached them with a knife.

The suspect, who was shot dead at the scene, was a 45-year-old man who had served as an employee of the police department’s administrative staff for 20 years.

“Paris is mourning her own this afternoon after this appalling attack on the @prefpolice,” Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo posted on Twitter. “The toll is heavy; several policemen lost their lives. In my name and that of Parisians, my first thoughts go to the families of the victims and their relatives.”

The attack occurred a day after a large protest by police officers in the French capital.

According to the event’s organizers, more than 27,000 turned out on Wednesday to protest high rates of suicide among officers and the proposed reforms to the department’s retirement plan.