PARIS: Police shot and critically wounded a hijab-wearing woman in a Paris metro station on Tuesday morning, local media said, after commuters reported her behaving in a threatening manner.
The fully-veiled woman was shot at the Bibliotheque Nationale de France station. Commuters had earlier reported her “uttering aggressive, Jihadist comments,” government spokesman Olivier Veran said.
“Out of fear for their own safety, police agents used their weapons,” a police spokesperson told Reuters. The spokesperson could not say what in the “fully-veiled” woman’s behaviour at the Bibliotheque Nationale de France station had prompted the officers to shoot her.
The fire service, which provided emergency care for the woman, said she was struck by a bullet to her abdomen. She was transferred to a nearby hospital, a fire brigade spokesperson said.
Broadcaster BFM TV and daily newspaper Le Parisien earlier cited police sources as saying the woman’s behaviour indicated a possible “terrorist” motivation.
The metro station had been evacuated, police said.
