Paris Unity March
People hold panels to create the eyes of late Charlie Hebdo editor Stephane Charbonnier, known as "Charb", as hundreds of thousands of French citizens take part in a solidarity march in the streets of Paris.Reuters

An Islamic radical, who was planning an attack on churches in Paris was arrested with a huge cache of heavy weapons after he shot himself by mistake, French officials announced on Wednesday.

The arrest of the 24-year-old computer science student prevented a major attack just in the nick of time, French authorities said.

The investigators have not yet disclosed if the alleged attacker had any affiliation to Islamic State (Isis) militants. Identified as an Algerian national, he managed to kill a 32-year old Frenchwoman last Sunday, despite being on a terror watch-list.

An Associated Press report noted that the Islamic radical was arrested on Sunday after he  shot himself by mistake and then had to call the ambulance for help. The police at the scene later found a blood trail leading to his car that had loaded guns and notes about potential targets inside.

Announcing the arrest, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve stated the police have recovered ""detailed documents... [that] established beyond doubt that the individual was planning an imminent attack, probably on one or two churches."

Inside the suspect's apartment, located in southeastern Paris, investigators found even heavy weapons. 

The investigators claimed that Aurelie Chatelain, the Frenchwoman, who was on a visit to Paris, was shot at random by the suspect on Sunday.

Ever since the Charlie Hebdo attacks, France has been closely monitoring terror threats,  and till now the country has thwarted at least six terror attacks.