Paris Police Shoot Hijab-Wearing Woman in Metro; Police: Her Behavior and Statements Were 'Threatening'

On Tuesday morning, Paris police shot a hijab-wearing woman at a metro station after she was reportedly shouting 'Allahu Akbar' and 'You will all die' in a threatening manner, severely injuring her. A police source stated, 'The police shot due to concerns for their own safety.' According to this source, the police were able to corner the woman at the Francois Mitterrand station after passengers reported her 'threatening and jihadist' statements, and asked her to calm down and raise her hands to show that she posed no danger. However, according to the police prosecutor's office, the woman 'refused to comply with police orders' and threatened to blow herself up. The statement continued that given the existing dangers, law enforcement officers had no choice but to shoot the woman. According to the fire department's report, which provided immediate care to the woman, she was shot in the abdomen. The police chief reported that her condition, after being transferred to a nearby hospital, is serious. This source stated that no explosives or other weapons were found with her. He added that the woman's identity has not yet been confirmed, but it is suspected that she may be the same individual who threatened urban anti-terrorism patrols in 2021 and was hospitalized in a psychiatric ward due to mental health issues. According to the prosecutor's statements, the police are investigating the woman's actions, as well as looking into the justification for the police's use of firearms in relation to her. The Paris police chief stated that France is on high alert following the murder of a school teacher by an Islamist extremist on October 13, which officials say is linked to the 'jihadist' atmosphere influenced by the Israel-Gaza war. Many in France, which has a large Muslim immigrant population, are concerned about the repercussions of Hamas's attack on Israel and Israel's response to that terrorist attack. Hamas militants, supported by the Islamic Republic of Iran, killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians, in several terrorist attacks on Israeli soil on October 7. This militant group also took more than 200 hostages during these attacks. The United States, Japan, and the European Union are among the countries that have designated Hamas as a terrorist organization.