PARIS — An armed assailant rammed an explosives-laden car into a police van on France’s iconic Champs-Elysees on Monday afternoon.

A convoy of police vans was travelling on the Champs-Élysées around 3:40 p.m. when an assailant drove a car carrying weapons including gas cylinders, automatic pistols and a Kalashnikov assault rifle struck the leading van.

According to Le Parisien, the 31-year-old suspect from Île-de-France had an S-file, meaning he was known to the French government for potential terrorism-related concerns but the evidence was not sufficient to make an arrest.

The assailant’s car struck the van on its right flank and continued to push the van forward before skidding to a stop. The car then billowed orange smoke after the collision. The assailant reportedly exited the vehicle but died of his injuries before he was able to inflict injury on anyone.

This is the second attack on French police this month after a man used a hammer to attack officers patrolling the famous Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on June 6.