Paris: At least two injured in knife attack near former Charlie Hebdo office, two suspects arrested

At least two people were injured in a knife attack near the former office of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris on Friday, AP reported. The attack is being investigated by anti-terrorism authorities.

The police have arrested two suspects so far, according to AFP. The first suspect was arrested near the Place de la Bastille, according to France24. He was “covered in blood”.

The police have not yet established the motive behind the attack or whether it was linked to the magazine.

French Prime Minister Jean Castex said that the two people injured in the attack were journalists who were smoking in the street, Reuters reported. He added that their injuries were not life-threatening. Castex, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo visited the scene, according to BBC.

The area in the eastern part of Paris, including the magazine’s office, was cordoned-off by the police for two hours after the attack. The police also noticed a suspect package in the area, but it was later found to be harmless. Videos from the spot showed heavy security in the area.

Several schools in the area were closed and the staff and students were sequestered inside as precaution, according to The Telegraph.

The knife attack came amid the ongoing trial of fourteen people in the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack. The trial began on September 2. Twelve people, including eight employees of the magazine, were killed on January 7, 2015, when brothers Said and Cherie Kouachi stormed Charlie Hebdo’s Paris headquarters. Al-Qaeda’s branch in the Arabian Peninsula had claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying it was revenge for the cartoons the magazine had published of Prophet Mohammed.

The attacks set off weeks of unrest leading to the deaths of 17 more people in the ensuing days, after a Jewish supermarket was also targeted.