A pregnant woman is among three injured in a Paris attack as the knifeman was heard shouting "Allah ordered me to do it".
Two of the three victims have been left severely wounded from the horror stabbing which took place close to Place de Clichy at around 9.30am.
Three women, aged 19, 24 and 36, were attacked with two kitchen knives, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez confirmed shortly after the incident this morning.
The incident took place between the brasserie Les Deux Coupoles and the Porte de Clichy tram stop in the north west of the capital.
Two of the victims who were taken to hospital remain in critical condition, local media reported. One woman was hit in the lower back while the other was hit in the abdomen.
A man has now been arrested by an off-duty police officer at the scene. "I pay tribute to him, it was a courageous act," Mr Nunez added.
The Interior Minister said the motive of the attack remains unknown. Police are yet to identify the attacker, whose words were "incoherent" during his arrest.
Mr Nunez said "we need to be very careful with respect to the motives for this very violent attack".
A heavy police presence remains in the area
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The man, while being pinned down, declared "it is Allah who ordered me" while he was being arrested, Le Figaro reported.
Footage from the scene shows a man, brandishing a large knife while running across traffic.
Terrified onlookers can be seen trying to flee the area while the knifeman remained on the loose.
The national anti-terror prosecutor’s office confirmed it was "monitoring the procedure conducted by the Paris prosecutor’s office".
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The area has been cordoned off
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Metro and tram stations in the surrounding area have been closed while a police cordon remains in place.
A formal investigation into the incident has now been launched.
The attack in Paris has come just two days after an Islamist radical rammed a minivan into a Berlin pride parade, killing a woman and injuring a further 29 on Saturday night.
German police shot dead the suspect, Abdul Ballout, following almost a 24-hour-long manhunt for the perpetrator.
The 21-year-old was identified as Lebanese and was previously known to the police following a prior sentencing.
He was killed in an allotment complex in Berlin’s Spandau district by a Swat team, German media reported.
Police gunned down the suspect after he was said to have attacked officers first.
Ballout was fatally wounded and died at 6.34pm, Bild confirmed.