Terror probe opened in Paris knife attack

French Prosecutors on Friday opened a terror investigation into a deadly knife attack at a police headquarter in Paris that claimed the lives of four people.

The exact reasons for the opening of a terrorism investigation were unclear, with prosecutors in Paris having had said that the"elements gathered at this stage by investigators" had led them to hand the case over to the national antiterrorism prosecutor's office, reported The New York Times.

The suspect, a 45-year-old computer specialist, was described by authorities as a 20-year veteran of the force with an uneventful record. He was shot dead by an officer after a stabbing spree in the massive building adjacent to Notre Dame Cathedral.

According to police union officials, the suspect had a hearing disability and had converted to Islam.

"Converting to Islam is not an automatic sign of radicalization" but that "the facts need to be examined with precision," Sibeth Ndiaye, a spokeswoman for the French government, told local media on Friday.