PARIS, May 10, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - One of two officers shot and seriously

wounded by an attacker at a police station in Paris was fighting for his life
Friday, as senior officials expressed their support.

On Thursday night, a man who had been arrested for allegedly attacking a
woman with a box cutter shot the pair in the French capital's 13th district
after grabbing one of their weapons.

Shootings in police stations are very rare, and senior officials from the
interior minister to the mayor of Paris offered their sympathies.

One of the two policemen, shot in the abdomen, was "between life and death"
on Friday morning, said Paris police prefect Laurent Nunez.
The other officer was injured in the back, said a police source. Prosecutors
said both are aged 33.

Nunez said the policemen had responded to an "extremely violent attack" on a
73-year-old woman who was seriously injured.

"The man was obviously very agitated," Nunez said.

The policemen took him to the police station and had him blow into a
breathalyser when the attacker grabbed one of the weapons, said Nunez.
The suspect was wounded in the chest by return fire and hospitalised. He and
the woman he wounded were still in hospital on Friday.

A police source described the attacker as an "Asian" male.
The prosecutor's office said three investigations had been launched -
including "the attempted murder of the woman" and the "attempted murder of
persons holding public authority."

The Paris public prosecutor's office said the 32-year-old suspect was not
previously known to police and the courts. He faces life in prison if
convicted.

The policemen could not be interviewed at the moment, a representative of the
Paris public prosecutor's office told AFP, confirming the life-threatening
injuries of one of them.

Police do not know whether the man knew the woman he had attacked, Nunez
said, adding that the officers called to the scene had to break down the door
of a flat.

- 'Paris stands by them' -
Neither the prefect nor the public prosecutor said how the attacker managed
to get hold of the service weapon of one of the officers.
Neighbourhood patrol officers are equipped with Sig Sauer 9 mm semi-automatic
pistols.

The loaded weapon was carried by the officer in "a double safety holster", a
senior police officer told AFP.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on X: "Our thoughts and support are
with them as they remain in hospital." He said that the full circumstances
had yet to be determined.

Speaking to AFP, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo added: "My thoughts are with them,
their families and loved ones. Paris stands by them."

Police union representatives said the shooting was just the latest example of
the dangers faced by officers every day.

"There is no such thing as a small mission," Linda Kebbab, national secretary
of the Un1te police union, said on X.

The Alliance union said it offers its "full support", adding that "no
controversy should obscure the fact that our two colleagues almost lost their
lives after saving the life of a victim."