Attacker Pelted With Petanque Balls During Paris Rampage

At least seven people were hurt in Paris late Sunday after a man went on a rampage with an iron bar and a large knife, though police say they do not believe terrorism was the motive. Witnesses say the man, believed to be a 31-year-old Afghan national, initially stabbed two men and a woman walking near a canal, the BBC reports. He was spotted and chased by a group of people who had been playing petanque, the lawn bowling game also known as boules. The group of around 20 people pelted the man with metal petanque balls, but they weren't able to stop him from attacking two British tourists in a nearby street, witnesses say.

The man was eventually brought to the ground by the petanque players. He was unconscious and injured when he was taken into custody by police. Four of the people hurt in the attack were hospitalized with serious injuries, including the two British tourists, one of them with head injuries and the other with stab wounds in the chest, the Guardian reports. "At this stage, there is nothing to indicate that it could be a terrorist attack," according to a police source, who says the man attacked "strangers in the street." Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo thanked police for arresting the man and the petanque players who intervened. (More Paris stories.)