---
title: "Mauritius temporarily closes schools after night of unrest over police shooting"
description: "Mauritius closed schools in some parts of the country on Tuesday, the Ministry of Education said, following a night of unrest that began when a police officer shot a young woman."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "World"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters-dailymaverick-co-za/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-10-13-mauritius-temporarily-closes-schools-after-night-of-unrest-over-police-shooting/"
published: "2026-10-13T13:07:43"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 153
---

# Mauritius temporarily closes schools after night of unrest over police shooting

> Mauritius closed schools in some parts of the country on Tuesday, the Ministry of Education said, following a night of unrest that began when a police officer shot a young woman.

By Reuters · Published 13 October 2026, 15:07 SAST

## Content

A police sergeant has been provisionally charged in connection with the shooting of Élodie Thomas, 27, local media reported without giving details on what led to the incident

Thomas was wounded while travelling home from work in a van in a residential area south of the capital on Friday night

Health Minister Anil Bachoo said Thomas underwent successful surgery to remove the bullet

Police have not commented on the incident but have said an investigation was underway

Protesters burned tyres and blocked roads in parts of the country on Monday night, prompting police deployments

The Prime Minister's Office said the situation had returned to normal and that all public sector services would operate as usual

The education ministry did not say when schools would reopen, saying it would give an update later

Public unrest is rare on the Indian Ocean island

(Reporting by Jean Paul Arouff; Editing by George Obulutsa and Kate Mayberry)