A police officer has died after being shot in southern Paris.

The police officer had been called to the scene of a traffic accident that occurred around 7:15 am involving a grey Clio, according to France Info, when she was fired at.

A man wearing a bullet-proof vest fired at the police woman and a civilian, who is thought to be a council worker, with an automatic rifle, seriously injuring the officer.

iTele said both victims of the shooting were seen lying on the ground after the attack.

The attack occurred near Porte de Chatillon south of Paris.

Le Parisien reported that one of the shooters fled on foot towards the Metro station Châtillon-Montrouge.

The other is reported to have fled by car.

AFP news agency reported that one of the suspects, a 53-year-old man, has since been detained.

Police said the other suspect is on the run.

It is not believed to be related to the attack a day earlier on the Charlie Hebdo magazine in which 12 people were killed.

But Sky’s crime correspondent Martin Brunt said: “I think on reflection, given that it appears to be a much more serious incident than originally thought, police will be looking at whether there is any link.

“Maybe it is a copycat, but maybe it is not related.”

Interior Minister Berbard Cazeneuve said authorities were doing their best to identify and arrest the attacker, and he urged people not to jump to conclusions about any link to the Charlie Hebdo attack.

Also an explosion at a kebab shop near a mosque in eastern France was reported, there were no casualties.

“It is a criminal act,” a local official told AFP, adding that a police investigation had been opened.