About 300 people were evacuated in the French city of Sarcelles, north of Paris, on the evening of July 11 after a suspicious vehicle was discovered with a long-barreled weapon inside, BFMTV reports.

According to BFMTV, citing police sources, at around 9:30 p.m. officers from the anti-crime brigade received information from the intelligence services and arrived to inspect an abandoned car on Henri Dunant Street.

The vehicle was located near a cinema, restaurants, and the city synagogue, after which the authorities decided to evacuate people from the area.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez confirmed that security measures were taken at the scene and a judicial investigation was launched.

"There was a long-barreled weapon in the vehicle, a military-style weapon," the minister said.

The area was cordoned off, and bomb disposal experts arrived at the scene.

According to Nuñez, the motives behind the incident are still unknown, and the suspects have neither been identified nor detained.