Pinoy recalls experience during Paris hammer attack

A Filipino was among those trapped inside Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, when a hammer-wielding foreign student attacked a policeman outside on Tuesday, GMA News' Cesar Apolinario reported on Balitanghali on Thursday.
Rafaelito Gomez said he and several others were ushered into the cathedral without knowing the full extent of the attack and were held there until police finished blocking off the area.
"Actually, andito ako sa tapat ng prefecture, bigla na lang nagkagulo tapos pinapaalis lahat ng tao," Gomez said.
"Blinoke nila yung lahat ng paligid. May mga nagdatingan na pulis, 'yung mga police cars, tsaka yung mga vans, tapos pinalibutan na 'yung buong sector, bawat tulay. Dito sa loob, 'di na 'ko nakalabas."
Policemen shot and wounded the attacker, who according to the report was an Algerian student.
Police had earlier said they were dealing with an incident in the courtyard outside the world-famous tourist site and warned the public to stay away.
A report on the Telegraph said the suspect was a 40-year-old Algerian doctoral student in information science who claimed to be a "soldier of the caliphate" of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant .
In addition to "rudimentary weapons" found in the suspect's possession, The Guardian reported that investigators found a video of allegiance to ISIL in the suspect's residence in the ensuing counter-terrorism inquiry.
No motive has been established for the attack.
French interior minister Gérard Collomb said the government was considering renewing the state of emergency in France, established due to the bombings and shootings in the capital of Paris in 2015. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News

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