The attack took place today at 11:00 am at the Ismaili Center in Lisbon and was carried out by “a man armed with a large knife”, who was detained by the police and taken to hospital said the PSP, in a statement.

According to a note from the national directorate of the PSP, the attack "with a bladed weapon" on the Ismaili center, on Avenida Lusíada, was communicated to the police at 10:57 am, with the first agents who responded to the occurrence arriving at the scene a minute later.

“The police came across a man armed with a large knife. Orders were given to the attacker to cease the attack, which he disobeyed, advancing towards the police, knife in hand”, reveals the PSP.

Faced with this “serious threat”, the agents fired at the attacker, “hitting and neutralising the aggressor”.

The attack resulted in “several injuries and, so far, two fatalities”, with the attacker being taken to the hospital in police custody.

The PSP appeals for the serenity and tranquillity of citizens, stressing that "the necessary staff have been mobilised for the implementation of appropriate and urgent security measures".

A source from the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM) contacted by Lusa said he had received the alert at 10:53 am.

"There are two deaths to be registered and two seriously injured, one of whom was sent to Hospital de São José and the other, by his own means, to Hospital de Santa Maria", said the same source.

A source from Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte indicated that Hospital de Santa Maria received a man who had been stabbed in the chest who arrived by his own means, in the emergency room.

The victim, according to the source, is "in her 30s" and has "slight chest injuries".

In turn, a source from Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Central told Lusa that Hospital de São José received an injured man in the unit's emergency department, without providing further details.

The Judiciary Police are at the site, where the president of the Parish Council of São Domingos de Benfica, José Câmara, was also present.

Close to 13:00, fences were placed at the entrance to the centre.

The Ismaili Center on Avenida Lusíada was inaugurated on the 11th of 1998, with a total area of 18 thousand square meters, between the built area and the gardens and patios.