Hijab-wearing woman shot by police in Paris metro, condition critical

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.

"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 Islamist "terrorist" motivation.

The metro station had been evacuated, police said.