A crazed knifeman stabbed two people to death and injured seven others in France.
The assailant is said to have shouted 'Allahu Akbar' before knifing 'at least nine people' who were doing their shopping in Romans-sur-Isère, southern France, local media reports.
One of the wounded is in critical condition in hospital.
The attack around 11am this morning comes on France's third week of lockdown due to the coronavirus, which has killed more than 6,500 people in the country alone. The alleged attacker - who said he was from Sudan - stabbed a Romanian resident who had just left his home for his daily walk, local media reports.
He slit the man's throat in front of his girlfriend and son.
Following that the assailant entered a tobacco shop, stabbed the tobacconist and two customers, and then went into the local butcher's shop, the reports add.
He grabbed another knife from there and attacked a client with the blunt end before entering a supermarket.
Some shoppers took refuge in a nearby bakery.
Prosecutors did not identify the suspected attacker who has been living in France since 2017 and has has refugee status according to Le Point. They said he had no documents but claimed to be Sudanese and to have been born in 1987.
Footage taken shortly after the attack shows emergency services at the scene.
The anti-terrorism prosecutor's office said it is evaluating whether the attack was motivated by terrorism, but that it has not launched any formal proceedings to treat it as such.
Under France's strict lockdown, all residents must stay inside except for essential outside such as shopping or going to the doctor.
The country has more than 83,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and upwards of 6,500 died from the bug. There have been a number of knife attacks in France in recent months.
In January, French police shot and injured a man in Metz who was waving a knife and shouting 'Allahu akbar.'
Two days earlier, another man was shot dead by police after he stabbed one person fatally and wounded two others in a Paris suburb.
