French official: Extremist was planning attack on church

A teddy bear with “Charlie” written on it lays on the statue of the place de la Republique, three months after the terror attack against French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, Place de la Republique, in Paris, Saturday, April 11, 2015. Three months ago, masked Islamic extremists stormed the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 people in the beginning of three days of terror. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

France’s top security official says police have arrested an Islamic extremist in Paris as he was planning an imminent attack on one or more churches.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said the man is also accused of killing a young woman shortly before he was arrested on Sunday.

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The 24-year-old computer science student had lived in France for several years and had been flagged by security officials last year.

A French security official says the suspect was arrested after he apparently had shot himself and called for an ambulance.