Paris police shoot woman after threatening explosion

Police shot a woman at a Paris train station because of a suspected Islamist terror threat. The woman had previously threatened to blow herself up. The Paris public prosecutor’s office said the woman had already made death threats on a train heading to the center that morning.

When she did not comply with the requests of the alerted officers in the train station, two officers fired eight shots and the woman was critically injured. An explosive device was not found on her.

The woman shouted “God is great” (“Allahu Akbar”) in Arabic, the newspaper “Le Parisien” reported, citing the police. The fully veiled woman was hit in the stomach and was taken to a clinic, according to the broadcaster France Info.

According to the public prosecutor’s office, two investigations were initiated – against the woman for her threats and, routinely, against the officers for the use of their firearms. The station was evacuated as a precaution.

The French government declared the highest terror alert level on October 13 after a teacher was killed in a knife attack in Arras. The 20-year-old perpetrator had sworn his loyalty to the “Islamic State” in a long audio message, prosecutors said, and President Macron spoke of “Islamist terrorism.” Investigators said the perpetrator had “in passing” alluded to the situation in the Middle East.

Paris police shoot woman at station after threats

French counter-terrorism police have shot and wounded an unarmed woman in a full veil after she threatened train passengers, Paris authorities say.

Officers opened fire eight times when the woman refused to comply with police orders, a source told the BBC.

The alarm was raised by passengers on an RER suburban train in the 13th district in southern Paris.

The Paris prefect said police then intervened at the Bibliothèque François-Mitterrand train station.

The woman was reportedly heard shouting “Allahu Akbar,” or “God is greatest”.

“Police feared for their safety,” the source added.

She is said to be critical but stable after being shot in the abdomen. She was reportedly operated on in hospital.

Paris police prefect Laurent Nuñez said the woman may be a 38-year-old who in 2021 threatened security forces protecting sensitive sites in France from terror attacks.

Mr Nuñez added that she was interned on mental health grounds after the incident.

The officers who shot her were wearing body cams, government spokesman Olivier Véran said.

Two investigations have been launched by the authorities. One is regarding the woman’s actions, and the other to determine whether the use of a firearm by police was justified.

The incident comes amidst heightened tension in France caused by the Israel-Hamas war.

Earlier this month, a teacher was killed and two people seriously injured at a school in northern France by an attacker who reportedly shouted “Allahu Akbar”. In the wake of the incident, France raised its counter-terrorism security alert to its highest level.

Separately, the Paris region has also been rocked by a spate of antisemitic incidents in recent days. Stars of David have been found daubed on buildings in several areas of Paris and its suburbs.

In Saint-Ouen, a northern suburb, Stars of David were found daubed on the home of a resident. Mayor Karim Bouamrane called for the authors of the “antisemitic and racist” graffiti to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

About 60 more Stars of David were graffitied on several buildings in the 14th arrondissement of Paris on the night of 30-31 October.

Emmanuel Grégoire, deputy to Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, said the stars would be removed and an investigation launched.

“Antisemitism continues to kill,” Mr Grégoire said. “We will never give up the fight.”