Paris shooting assailant not on security watch list: prosecutor

The armed man who shot dead a police officer in Paris' iconic Champs-Elysees avenue on Thursday did not show any sign of radicalization before the attack, Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said on Friday.

"He was not on the security services' watch list and had shown no signs of radicalization despite his many years of imprisonment," Molins told reporters.

However, police found a note near his body which contained messages sympathetic to the extremist group Islamic State (IS), he added.

Molins also confirmed that a pump action shotgun and two knives were found in the shooter's car, which he had stopped alongside a stationary police van in the Champs-Elysees.

Investigation is underway to determine whether the shooter had accomplices, said Molins.

Identified as Karim Cheurfi, the 39-year-old gunman was known to police for armed attacks on law enforcement officers.

He served 14 years in prison for attempted murders, with two against police officers.

On Thursday evening, Cheurfi with an automatic riffle shot dead a policeman and severely wounded two others before being killed.

The IS has claimed responsibility for the attack. Endit