Islamic State claims responsibility for Paris knife attack that left 2 dead, including attacker

A knife-wielding assailant yelling “Allah Akbar!” killed one person and wounded four others in Paris on Saturday before being shot dead by police, French authorities said.

Police arrived at the scene around 8:50 p.m. local time to confront the attacker, who rushed at police with his knife while shouting “I will kill you,” a police union representative told Reuters. The man was then shot dead by the officers.

The attack took place in a central district of Paris known for its many landmark retail stores, restaurants, cafes and the famed Paris opera.

VIDEO: Panic in central Paris as crowd flees from scene of knife attack. WARNING: Video contains disturbing images. View discretion is advised.

The attacker has not been identified, but the Islamic State group’s news agency claimed that he was one of its “soldiers.”

A picture seen by Reuters, which a source said showed the attacker, showed a bare-chested and bearded young man dressed in black trousers.

France’s Interior Minister Gerrard Collomb tweeted shortly after the incident. He commemorated police for responding quickly and also said his thoughts were with the victims of the “odious attack.”

READ MORE: Last surviving Paris attacks suspect faces trial; refuses to stand or talk

French President Emmanuel Macron said later that France would not cede to “enemies of freedom.”

Paris has been under high security in recent years after a string of deadly terror attacks commissioned or inspired by the Islamic State, in which dozens of people have been killed.

— With files from the Associated Press and Reuters