PARIS, May 12 -- A man randomly attacked bystanders with a knife on Saturday night in central Paris, Paris prefecture confirmed.

"Five people in the 2nd district of Paris were attacked by an individual armed with a knife," the prefecture tweeted.

"One victim died. Two were seriously injured and two were wounded slightly," it added.

The knife attacker, not identified yet, was shot dead by police.

The incident took place in Opera district of central Paris, and the site was about 400 meters away from Paris Opera House.

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb denounced "heinous act" and praised police "composure" and swift reaction to neutralize the attacker.

Citing a police source, French newspaper Le Figaro reported that the operating mode of the attacker, who shouted something during the stabbing rampage, suggested a terrorist motivation.

France has become a major target of frequent terrorist attacks in recent years. A wave of attacks, claimed by the Islamic State, had broken several times the calm at home with the bloodiest was in Paris where a series of explosives and shootings left 130 victims in November of 2024.

In October 2024, French President Emmanuel Macron signed anti-terrorism law which he said was necessary to muscle security at home to combat high terrorism menace.

The bill enshrines emergency security rules into ordinary law that allow police will have more power to search, arrest without judge approval and restrict people movements and gathering.