Mall staffers return beneath Louvre after attack

By: The Associated Press

news@abc6.com

PARIS (AP) — Staff members are returning to a shopping mall beneath the Louvre Museum and roadblocks have been cleared after a man was shot after trying to attack a soldier guarding the site.

Police said the area around the attempted attack was evacuated following the incident. A French soldier shot the attacker, who shouted “Allahu akbar,” or “God is great,” and seriously wounded him.

As the roadblocks were cleared, tourists began streaming out of the Louvre.

Hundreds of tourists had remained inside the museum during the incident, and some were brought into special safe rooms, according to a witness.

Conor Bakhuizen, 18, is in Paris on a school trip. In a Twitter exchange with The Associated Press, he said he “was in the foyer and suddenly rushed into another room in the museum.”

He said the mood was “very tense at first but everyone was vigilant and now” everyone is in a good mood.

The attack on a soldier outside the Louvre Museum took place only hours before leaders of Paris’ bid for the 2024 Olympics unveil their final candidate files.

French officials have repeatedly dismissed security concerns over the bid despite the wave of attacks that have left more than 200 people dead in the country over the past two years.

The attack will raise more questions before Friday’s ceremony near the Eiffel Tower, although bid officials claim the French capital has the experience needed to organize and protect major events if it gets the 2024 Games.

Speaking outside the Louvre, Paris Mayor Anne Hidlago, who will attend the ceremony alongside athletes and other bid leaders, said all big cities in the world are under threat. She said that “there is not a single one escaping that menace.”

Paris, which hasn’t hosted the Olympics since 1924, is competing against Budapest and Los Angeles. The International Olympic Committee will choose the host city in September.

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