In a Paris metro station on Tuesday morning, police shot and critically wounded a fully-veiled woman wearing a hijab. She was reportedly behaving threateningly and shouting “Allahu Akbar” and “You’re all going to die.”
This incident occurred at the Bibliotheque François-Mitterrand station. Commuters had earlier reported her making aggressive, Jihadist comments. When the police arrived, they initially asked her to calm down and show her hands to ensure she posed no immediate danger. Later the woman was shot in the abdomen and received emergency care from the fire service before being transported to a nearby hospital, where her life remains in jeopardy.
Although her identity is yet to be confirmed, there are indications that she may be the same individual who had previously threatened urban patrols associated with the counter-terrorism Sentinelle operation and had been placed in a psychiatric ward for mental health issues in 2021. This person had refused to comply with summons, leading to the use of force by the police. The woman had also made threats of self-detonation, according to statements from the prosecutor’s office.
It was later determined that she did not possess any explosives at the time she was shot. Following the incident, the RER C line metro station was evacuated. This event has occurred amidst a heightened state of alert in France, following the suspected Islamist attack on October 13th that resulted in the tragic murder of a schoolteacher. Officials have linked this incident to what they describe as a “Jihadist atmosphere” associated with the Israel-Gaza war.
