Police in the city of Ghent shot a man armed with a knife in the main entrance hall of a train station, a prosecutor's spokeswoman in Belgium said.

Ghent prosecutor's spokeswoman An Schoonjans said in a telephone interview that the man was seriously injured and fighting for his life in a hospital on Tuesday night.

She said additional details would have to await an investigation. The busy Ghent St. Pieters train station had to be partially closed off after the incident.

Belgium lowered its terrorism threat a notch on Monday, from the second-highest level to the second-lowest. There was no immediate indication whether the train station event was terror-related.