'I am here to die for Allah, there will be deaths': Chilling final words of Paris airport attacker who shot at cops before he was killed as Kate and William met French terror victims
- Convicted criminal Ziyed Ben Belgacem, 39, was shot dead at the airport's south terminal
- Less than two hours earlier he had shot at three police officers after being stopped for speeding
- Authorities believe he was radicalised in prison, and his father and brother have been arrested
- Witnesses recounted hearing 'four or five' shots, and the airport was evacuated
- It comes as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit the French capital
A convicted criminal with links to radical Islam shouted 'I am here to die for Allah, there will be deaths' seconds before he was shot dead during an attack at Paris Orly airport.
The 39-year-old, named locally as career criminal Ziyed Ben Belgacem, was killed after wrestling a soldier's gun from her and fleeing into a McDonald's.
He sent a text message to his brother and father stating 'I shot the police', shortly before he was killed.
Revealing his chilling final words, Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said an anti-terrorist enquiry had been launched.
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A picture purported to show the man who was shot dead at Paris Orly airport this morning after snatching a soldier's gun
The 39-year-old, named locally as career criminal Ziyed Ben Belgacem, was killed after wrestling a soldier's gun from her and fleeing into a McDonald's
Travelers wait outside the Orly airport, south of Paris, which was evacuated this morning after a man was shot dead
The man opened fire on three police officers in Stains, in the north of Paris, at 6.55am. He fled in a Renault Clio, which was found in Vitry-sur-Seine, where a woman's car was stolen at gunpoint. He was shot dead after grabbing a soldier's gun at Orly airport at 8.30am
Cocaine was found in the dead man's flat, and Mr Molins said there had been fears about the 'extremely violent' Ben Belgacem's mental health.
Less than two hours before he was killed, he had shot a female police officer in the head in a northern Paris suburb after being stopped for speeding.
The Paris prosecutors' office said he was suspected of having terror links, and Ben Belgacem's home was among scores searched in November 2015 following attacks which killed 130 people.
The wanted man's father and brother turned themselves in at a police station after receiving the message, according to French TV network BFM. They have been taken into custody, and a home is being searched, officials have confirmed.
Ben Belgacem was stopped by police in the suburb of Stains, close to his home, at around 6.55am.
The 39-year-old, who was driving a Renault Clio, pulled out a shotgun and fired at the officers while he was fetching his ID.
He sped off, and the car was found abandoned 11 miles away at Vitry, south of Paris.
He then hijacked a woman's Citroen Picasso at gunpoint, and this second car was later found parked at the airport.
Today's incidents come as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit Paris, where they have met with victims of terrorism. They were around 10 miles from the airport when the shooting happened.
Ben Belgacem had previously been jailed for drug trafficking and authorities believe he was radicalised in prison.
He first came to police notice in the late 1990s, when he was involved in a series of bank robberies in the Paris suburb.
Police sources said Ben Belgacem was close to his family, and was staying with them at their flat on a council estate in Garges-lès-Gonesse, where he was first stopped this morning.
The family are French and come from a Tunisian background. He was armed with a shotgun when he opened fire on police. He sped away in a Renault Clio, which was later found in Vitry, in the south of the city, containing a bloody t-shirt.
Here he hijacked a woman's car at gunpoint and drove to the airport
Police officers investigate at the home of Ziyed Ben Belgacem, who was shot dead at Paris Orly airport this morning
The apartment block where Ben Belgacem lived is being searched by police after this morning's shooting
A source said: 'The Clio was found abandoned some thirty kilometres away with the man's identity papers and a bloodied T shirt. The man had hijacked a Citroen Picasso and made for Orly.'
Checks soon revealed that Ben Belgacem was subject to a 'File J' - meaning he was wanted by the judicial authorities but was not under surveillance.
His family are from the Val d’Oise department north of Paris.
French Interior Minister Bruno Le Roux said the man shot dead at the airport is the same as the one who 'is linked with car hijacking' earlier.
Ben Belgacem had previously served time in prison for armed robbery and drug trafficking, and had been radicalized in prison, Le Parisien reports.
Anti-terror police stormed the airport searching for possible accomplices and explosives, and authorities warned the public to stay away.
Flights from the south terminal have been suspended, but airport officials confirmed this afternoon that the west terminal is operational again.
Passengers landing at Orly were kept on planes while the anti-terror operation was carried out.
A spokesman for the military force that patrols public sites in France says the soldier attacked at Orly Airport was 'shocked' but uninjured after the 'very violent aggression'.
The spokesman, Benoit Brulon, was speaking to BFM television.
Passengers landing at Orly were kept on planes while the anti-terror operation was carried out
The airport was evacuated after the shooting, which happened at 8.30am today, less than two hours after the 39-year-old man had fired at three police officers on the opposite side of the city
Explosives experts are searching the airport for bombs amid fears the man may have had an accomplice
Three police officers were shot at in the Paris suburb of Stains 90 minutes before the airport shooting
A witness identified only as Dominque told French TV network BFMTV: 'The soldiers took aim at the man, who in turn pointed the gun he had seized at the two soldiers.'
This account was contradicted by French defense minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, who said the attacker wrestled the soldier to the floor, but she was able to keep hold of her weapon.
The minister says the two other patrolmen opened fire 'to protect her' and the public in the airport.
A large emergency services operation was launched after this morning's shooting at Orly airport
A woman clasps a young child after being evacuated from the terminal during this morning's attack
French policemen secure the area at the Paris' Orly airport after this morning's attack, carried out by a convicted criminal
A helicopter checks the roof of Orly airport southern terminal after this morning's shooting
Another man says on BFM that there was a group of three soldiers targeted, and they tried to calm the man who seized the weapon. Then the man said he heard two gunshots.
French national police tweeted: 'Ongoing police operation, we recommend that you avoid the airport.'
Passenger Isabelle Raynaud said she was not being allowed to leave her plane as a result of the operation.
She wrote on Twitter: 'Stuck in the plane to #orly we are prevented from disembarking. There have been shots...'
Large teams of police have descended on the airport following the shooting at 8.30am today
The airport - the second largest serving the French capital - was evacuated, as anti-terrorist police flooded into the area.
A police source said the suspect had been killed by troops taking part in Operation Sentinelle, a security initiative that has been in place since 2015, and involves some 7000 soldiers.
'It happened in the south terminal - it is being evacuated,' said a source at the airport. 'Passengers and staff are being moved out of the areas.'
France is currently under a state of emergency following a series of attacks by Islamic State and al-Qaeda operatives over the past two years.
Prince William and wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, pose in front of the Eiffel Tower during a visit to Paris today
Today's incidents come on the second day of a visit by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to Paris. They are currently staying at the British Ambassador's residence by the British Embassy.
This morning they met with people affected by terror attacks in Paris and Nice.
Then they will attend this afternoon's rugby international between France and Wales.
A man has been shot dead after reportedly trying to steal a soldier's weapon at Paris Orly airport
Large groups of police descended on the airport, in the south of the French capital, following this morning's shooting
A woman in a wheelchair is helped to evacuate Orly airport this morning after the security alert
Eyewitness Franck Lecam, 54, said the killing happened close to a departure lounge where people were waiting to board a flight to Israel.
Mr Lecam said: 'We were waiting in line to check in on the flight to Tel Aviv when we heard three or four gunshots nearby.
'The entire airport has been evacuated. We are being kept at the front of the airport, about 200 meters from the entrance hall.
'There are policemen, emergency workers, and soldiers everywhere, and they are running in all directions.'
Explosives experts at the scene said the man who was shot dead soon after 8..30am was not wearing a suicide vest.
French Interior Minister spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said man 'hid in an airport shop before being defeated by the security forces.'
Mr Brandet said nobody else at the airport was injured, and that both terminals at Orly - South and West - were now closed.
It came as three policemen were shot at by car driver in Stains, the northern Paris suburb.
He was stopped by the officers just before 7am, and then opened fire while pretending to take out his identity papers.
One of the policeman was slightly injured, as the man fled. He was still at large by mid-morning.
French Red Cross workers stand by as travellers are evacuated from Paris' Orly airport this morning
Judicial police investigators enter Orly airport southern terminal this morning
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4326276/Paris-Orly-airport-evacuated-shooting.html#ixzz4bkenP1eO