Paris police attacker showed signs of radicalization

The man suspected of a deadly knife attack at the police headquarters in Paris was in contact with members of a group practicing a radical version of Islam, French lead prosecutor has said.

The attacker, Mickael Harpon, who was a staff employee at the Paris central police building, had contact with members of the ultra-conservative Salafist movement, prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard said.

The 45-year-old IT expert was shot dead on Thursday by a junior police officer after he attacked colleagues in several offices at the site, which is near major tourist sites including Notre Dame cathedral. Three men and one woman were killed and a fifth person was seriously injured.

Ricard said the autopsies "attest to a scene of extreme violence" in an attack that lasted seven minutes, adding that the two knives used in the attack had been purchased by the killer.

The assailant had converted to Islam about 10 years ago and "agreed with certain atrocities committed in the name of (Islam)" and defended the Charlie Hebdo attacks in 2015, Ricard said.

The suspect had exchanged 33 text messages with his wife ahead of the attacks, all of which were of a religious character, Ricard said. The suspect's wife is in police custody until Monday.

The prosecutor also noted that the killer had changed his style of clothing in recent months and had cut off contact with women.

Police earlier seized computer equipment during a search of the attacker's home in the north of the city. His wife on Friday reportedly told police that he had been incoherent and had heard voices the night before the attack.

Officials have not officially said there was a terrorist motive behind the attack, but handing a case to anti-terrorism prosecutors usually indicates a terrorism link is the focus of inquiries.

Ricard said his office had taken over the probe because of signs the crime was premeditated, the attacker's desire to die and the nature of injuries found on at least one of the victims.

Like everyone in the intelligence division, he had received a high level of security screening, according to police. He had worked for the Paris police force since 2003 did not have a history of psychiatric problems.

France suffered Islamist terrorist attacks in 2015 and 2016 that killed 237 people.