Brief crowd panic occurs in Paris after man commits suicide

Police forces secure the area after a security issue in a commercial center at La Defense business district near Paris, France, February 18, 2023. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier

Panic broke out briefly in a business and shopping district of Paris on Saturday after a man committed suicide, a police spokesperson said.

The spokesperson dismissed reports that gunshots had been fired. Police had urged people to avoid the area as a result of the incident, in which a man jumped to his death.

People had rushed away from La Defense area in the immediate aftermath of the incident. Paris has been hit by a number of militant attacks in recent years.

Police forces secure the area after a security issue in a commercial center at La Defense business district near Paris, France, February 18, 2023. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Laetitia Volga, Sarah Meysonnier, Christian Hartmann;Editing by Richard Lough, Helen Popper and Angus MacSwan)

People run outside a mall in La Defense district after what police said was "an incident", in Paris, France, February 18, 2023, in this still image obtained from a social media video. Abdelbasset Cherradi/via REUTERS