4 police officers killed by deaf islamic convert in France

A deaf civilian police worker who had recently converted to Islam was shot dead in Paris today after murdering four colleagues with a ceramic knife following a 'dispute over working with female colleagues'.

Michael Harpon, 45, caused the bloodbath in the French capital's historic Police Prefecture, next door to Notre Dame Cathedral.

Investigators have not ruled out a possible terrorist motivation for the Thursday afternoon attack, which left a woman and three men dead.

All were repeatedly stabbed by Harpon, who had worked in the IT department at the Prefecture since 2003, in the worst loss of French police lives in a single day since World War II.

Harpon had recently been reprimanded by his female boss over his refusal to interact with women, Actu17 reported.

Within hours of the attack, anti-terrorist officers had raided Harpon's flat in an apartment block at Gonesse, a suburb some 12 miles from the scene of the attack.

His wife, Iham, was arrested, as an investigating source said that the nature of Harpon's attack corresponded with similar ones carried out by terrorists affiliated to Islamic State and Al-Qaeda.