Three people were injured, one seriously, during a knife attack at Gare de Lyon this weekend. His psychiatric condition being “incompatible with the measure of restraint”, the suspect was released from police custody yesterday evening.
Three people were injured by a man with a knife and a hammer at Gare de Lyon in Paris on Saturday February 3. The suspect, quickly arrested by the railway brigade of the national police, before being handed over to the police, presents psychiatric disorders, which he himself reported to the police. The Paris police chief, Laurent Nuñez, reported that “a certain number of medications which prove that he is actually under treatment” were found on him, details Franceinfo. The motivations of the suspect described as “having a homeless profile”, who “showed no signs of religiosity” are extremely unclear. An investigation into attempted assassination was opened and entrusted to the Paris judicial police. Laurent Nuñez clarified that “at this stage, there is no element” that points to a terrorist act. The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office said it remained under observation.
Placed in police custody, after hearings and an examination of his mental state, the alleged perpetrator of the attack, aged 32, of Malian origin and holder of an Italian residence permit, was released and “taken care of by the psychiatric infirmary of the police headquarters”. “It seems to us that we know him, that he is collecting in the station,” said a witness to the attack to journalists from Franceinfo.
According to information known to date, the suspect attracted the attention of passers-by when he set his backpack on fire. He then tried to attack a woman who was walking away from him. Then, he allegedly pulled out a knife, hit an elderly man in the abdomen and head with a hammer. The seriously injured victim has a serious prognosis, explains Le Figaro. A second man then pushed the attacker to the ground before being joined by three other people who intervened to help neutralize him. Two of these people were slightly injured. The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, thanked “those who controlled the perpetrator of this unbearable act.”