The Louvre museum in Paris reopened Saturday morning, less than 24 hours after a knife-wielding man was shot by soldiers at the French landmark.
The man's life is "no longer in danger", according to the Paris prosecutor, who says his condition Saturday has "markedly improved" after he was shot four times.
He has been identified as 29-year-old Abdullah Reda al-Hamamy from Egypt, who yelled "Allahu Akbar" as he attacked four soldiers outside the museum, injuring one of them.
The attack at an entrance to a Paris shopping mall that extends beneath the museum sowed panic and again highlighted the threat French officials say hangs over the country, which was hit several times by extremist attacks in the last two years.
French President Francois Hollande said there is “no doubt” that the attack was of a “terrorist nature.” While he said the situation around the Paris tourist attraction is “totally under control,” he said it shows why increased security is needed in the country after terrorist attacks in 2015 and 2016.
A police union official said the attacker was carrying two backpacks and had two machetes. He said the man attacked the soldiers when they told him that he could not bring his bags into the Carrousel du Louvre shopping mall underneath the world-famous museum that is also home to the "Mona Lisa."
"That's when he got the knife out and that's when he tried to stab the soldier,'' said the official, Yves Lefebvre.
The four soldiers first tried to fight off the attacker before opening fire, said Benoit Brulon, a spokesman for the military force that patrols Paris and its major tourist attractions. The injured soldier was not badly hurt.
The French interior ministry said anti-terrorism prosecutors are investigating.
