Champs-Elysees: Car rams police van; armed suspect gunned down

An armed man who deliberately rammed his car into a police van in Paris on Monday afternoon has been taken down by officers and is dead, French authorities said.

The incident took place on the iconic Champs-Elysees boulevard in central Paris, the latest attack this year against security forces in the French capital. The Paris prosecutor's office has opened an anti-terror investigation into the incident, an Interior Ministry spokesman said.

"This shows once again that the threat level in France is extremely high," Collomb said.

Earlier, police advised people to avoid the area, as about 20 police vans and several armed officers surrounded the man on the ground. The incident took place at 3:40 pm local time. Reports say officers had to smash the windows of the car - a Renault Mégane - to pull the driver out.

The man was known to intelligence services, the BFMTV news channel reports.

Police earlier warned people to respect a security cordon around the area.

The anti-terrorist section of the prosecutor's office has opened up an investigation into the incident, which happened close to the Élysée presidential palace and the US embassy. It's the fifth time in four months that security forces have been attacked in the nation's capital.

Last month, a man attacked an officer with a hammer at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, proclaiming, "This is for Syria," Collomb said. The officer's injuries were not serious.

In April, a man shot at police officers — also on the Champs-Elysees — killing one officer and wounding two others.

Police shot and killed Karim Cheurfi as he tried to escape on the busy tourist boulevard. ISIS said the man was one of its fighters, and Cheurfi had a note defending ISIS in his pocket. In February, a soldier shot a machete-wielding man who rushed toward a group of soldiers and guards near the Louvre museum.