A military police officer accidentally fired off his weapon Tuesday during a speech by French President Francois Hollande – injuring himself and another person, according to reports.
Hollande was delivering his remarks at the opening of the Paris-Bordeaux high-speed line in the town of Villognon when the sound of gunfire erupted, the IB Times reported.
The officer – a member of the Gendarmerie – apparently left his gun’s safety off and it fired, the Daily Mail reported, citing local media.
He was hit in the foot and a train maintenance worker was struck in the leg, according to the Charente Libre newspaper.
Another member of the security services hurt his foot in the incident when he jumped behind a kitchen bar, IB Times reported.
The French leader, who bowed out of the presidential elections amid low approval ratings, was heard saying, “I hope it’s not serious.”
The shooting sparked security fears in France, where a state of emergency has been in effect since November 2015, when 130 people were killed during attacks by ISIS jihadists in Paris.
Police have been given extended powers of search and arrest, and security forces have been deployed at high-profile “soft targets” such as the famed Louvre, where authorities fear an attack on civilians.
Last month, a soldier patrolling at the Louvre shot and seriously injured a machete-wielding man who yelled “Allahu Akbar!” – “God is great!” – in what was described as a terrorist attack.
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