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Soldier Shoots Armed Attacker Outside Paris' Louvre Museum

PARIS, FRANCE (AP) --- Paris police say a soldier shot an armed attacker Friday morning outside the Louvre Museum in Paris, France.

Police say the soldiers had told him he couldn't enter a shopping complex under the museum with his bags. The Paris police chief says the man was armed with a machete and shouting "God is great" in Arabic when he launched himself at soldiers and police officers.

A police union official says the man tried to stab one of the soldiers. The attacker was shot five times, gravely wounding him. One soldier had a minor scalp injury.

The Paris police chief says the attacker was carrying two backpacks but they were later found not to contain any explosives.

Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet says anti-terrorism prosecutors are investigating the attack, but there are no details about the identity of the attacker. A second person also was arrested but it is unclear whether that person was linked to the attack.

The area surrounding the Louvre was being evacuated.

The museum in the center of Paris is one of the French capital's biggest tourist attractions.

Soldiers on patrol are part of security measures that have beefed-up in the wake of terror attacks in France in 2015 and 2016.

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(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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