Four police officers were killed with a knife inside police headquarters in Paris. The attacker was their colleague, who was later shot dead.

The version of personal conflict is being investigated, police sources say. The attacker was killed in the courtyard of the headquarters. He worked for the Intelligence Directorate in the technology department.

The attack was carried out inside an iconic building, located in the historic centre of the French capital, near Notre Dame Cathedral.

The victims were three male police officers from the anti-terrorist department at the prefecture and a female administrator in the public security department. A female employee of the human resources department was seriously injured and was operated on at the Percy military hospital, The Guardian reported.

The Élysée Palace said the head of state wanted to make a gesture of solidarity and support for all police officers. Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, Interior Minister Christophe Castane and the city prosecutor also went to police headquarters . Paris "Paris weeps for its own this afternoon after this terrifying attack in the police headquarters. The toll is heavy, several officers lost their lives," Mayor Anne Hidalgo tweeted, CBS News reported.

"The suspect, who is also among those killed, appears to have begun the attack from his own office. He then moved on to other parts of the police station. He killed four people whose posts we do not yet know. The motives are unknown to us so far. The colleague who did this has been an employee for 20 years. He works in the administrative part of intelligence. There was definitely no indication that he would do anything like that, "said Loic Travers, a police union spokesman.

French media reported that the attacker has recently converted to Islam. The 45-year-old employee was originally from the overseas provinces of France. He has served at least since 2003 in the IT department of the police. He was employed and, according to some media outlets, was deaf.

On Wednesday, nearly 30,000 police officers protested in the French capital. They were dissatisfied with the working conditions and the low salaries. 48 police officers have committed suicide since the beginning of the year

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!