A female police officer was killed in a terrorist attack in front of a police station in the suburbs of Paris

French counter-terrorism prosecutors have opened an investigation into Friday’s attack in Rambouillet, a distant suburb of Paris, AFP news agency said. In the attack, a man was shot dead after slashing the throat of a police officer at the entrance to a police station.

Rambouillet, a quiet town of nearly 26,000 residents located about 60 kilometers southwest of Paris, was killed Friday by slitting the throat of an administrative officer working at the Rambouillet police station.

After the attack, President Emmanuel Macron tweeted, “We will never give way in the face of Islamic terrorism.”

France’s national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into the incident. Counter-terrorism prosecutor Jean-François Ricard told a news conference that several factors led the anti-terrorism judiciary to open an investigation: first, that the killer had “staged” the attack; second, that the victim was a police officer; and third, what the attacker said at the time of the killing.

According to sources close to the investigators, some witnesses said that the attacker shouted “Allah is great” at the time.

Following the incident, French Prime Minister Jean-Claude Castet and Interior Minister Jean-Marie Damanan went to the scene to express the government’s support for the police and police staff. “Our determination to fight terrorism in all its forms is as strong as ever,” Castet declared.

The attack took place at around 2:20 p.m., AFP said, citing a police source. According to preliminary investigations, the person killed was an administrative staff member of the secretariat, 49, who was returning to her office after a break. The attacker stabbed her twice in the throat.

The victim, named Stéphanie, was unarmed and died instantly, despite the efforts of firefighters to save her. She had worked in Rambouillet for 28 years and had two daughters, aged 18 and 13.

Police sources said the attacker was shot and killed by a police officer.

The attacker, 36, a Tunisian expatriate with no record at the police station, had entered France illegally in 2009 but later had legal status.