Marseille police shoot man after knife attack

A man armed with a knife attacked passersby in Marseille, southern France, late on Tuesday afternoon before being shot dead by police, state-run France Info radio reported.

The man stabbed four people in the La Canebier neighborhood in the southern port city at 16:45 local time (1545 GMT), injuring two of them. One of the victims was in serious condition, France Info said.

According to the report, the attacker had tried to take out a gun to open fire on the police before he was shot. The attacker died of his injuries, the report said.

The scene of the assault was cordoned off and the city's prosecutor will investigate the attacker's identity and his motive.

Citing a source close to the investigation, LCI news channel reported that the attacker was born in 1983 and had already been convicted for murder.