The attacker was shot several times by police and taken to hospital with serious injuries. One police source said the police officer who shot the attacker was off-duty.

Police were treating the stabbings as a criminal act, not a terrorist attack, a source close to the case said and added, “The attacker sustained a life-threatening chest injury as police fired several rounds."

Later, the attacker was arrested 2 at the station. However, the motivations were not immediately clear.

"An individual injured several people this morning at the Gare du Nord," Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin wrote on Twitter.

"He was quickly neutralised. Thank you to the police for their effective and courageous response".

The station is one of the busiest in Europe and a major link between Paris, London and the north of Europe. The incident caused major delays to trains at the station in the early morning rush, according to the live departure board of operator SNCF.

Later, Police secured the area following the attack. Radio franceinfo, quoting rail operator SNCF, said trains were operating normally.

Video showed an eerie calm as dozens of police huddled nearby the Eurostar terminal entrance in areas cordoned off from the public.

In December, a suspected gunman killed three Kurds in Paris. The 69-year old suspect confessed to a "pathological" hatred for foreigners.