French riot police said they shot a man in the leg after he allegedly threatened people and stabbed a police officer close to the finish area of stage 4 of the Tour de France in Rouen.
Cyclingnews noted a significant presence of armed riot police at the finish area of the stage as part of increased security at the Tour de France.
The large size of crowds gather at the foot of the final climb, sparked concerns for the security of the Tour de France riders and teams. A sea of spectators ran from the foot of the last climb toward the finish line and thousands of others then packed the team bus area.
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The crowds gathered in Rouen to see world champion Tadej Pogačar clash with Mathieu van der Poel, Jonas Vingegaard and the other GC riders.
According to police, the incident happened two hours before the stage finish. Le Parisien reported that the suspect had threatened spectators with a knife before trying to run from the area.
When the police pursued and attempted to restrain the suspect, one of the riot police officers was stabbed in the chest by the suspect.
“Thanks to his chest protector, the riot police officer was not injured. Seeing his colleague under attacked, another riot police officer fired a shot,” multiple French media reported public prosecutor Sébastien Gallois as saying.
The suspect was treated on site and then taken into custody. An investigation into attempted murder of a police officer has been opened and has been entrusted to the Seine-Maritime interdepartmental judicial police service.
The suspect was reported to be a 21-year-old male who had been listed as a ‘wanted person’ since fleeing from a hospital a few weeks ago.
Most of the spectators in Rouen for the finish of stage 4 did not seem to be aware of the situation, due to the massive size of the crowds.
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