LISBON: An attacker armed with a knife killed two women on Tuesday at an Islamic centre in the Portuguese capital Lisbon before being shot and wounded by police, authorities said.

Officers were called to the centre just before 11 am (1000 GMT) where they encountered a man “armed with a large knife”, a police statement said.

“Orders were given to the attacker to cease the attack, which he disobeyed, advancing towards the police, knife in hand,” it added.

“Faced with the serious and ongoing threat, the policemen used firearms against the person, hitting and neutralising the aggressor.”

Armed police wearing bullet-proof vests stood outside the entrance to the Ismaili Muslim centre located in a landscaped park in northern Lisbon.