Attacked in broad daylight in this town in Orne, she is afraid to walk in the streets

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During the general meeting of the L'Aigle Shopping association, the traders of L'Aigle (Orne), some did not hide “being afraid of going to join our car on the square in the evening at the end of the daytime. We are not reassured.”

Shopkeepers and store employees therefore know what the feeling of insecurity is. But Elise knows what insecurity.

“Dressed in dark, hands in pockets”

That Tuesday, “I had an appointment with the owner of my apartment and it was 2:40 p.m. when I walked rue des Tanneurs. I cut through the rue des Sœurs de la Miséricorde to reach the city center when I saw a young girl walking towards me.”

A few days after the events, she kept this memory strongly anchored in her. “She was dressed all in dark, with a hood and both hands in her pockets. A few meters before crossing us, suddenly she started running, snatching my bag. I remember screaming 'it's not okay!'. Then, she fled via rue des Tanneurs.”

“I was terrified for my cat”

In a vain reflex, Elise wanted to catch up with her and it was by chasing her that she fell on the sidewalk.

I had one hand and both knees bleeding, but when I got up I immediately thought of my seriously ill cat at home. I was terrified that the girl would take my house keys from my bag, find my address and go harm my cat.

Joined by her friend, Elise rushes to the bank to stop her bank card and the checks, before filing a complaint with the police. “I was perfectly welcomed by totally kind people who listened to me.”

Unfortunately, she was not able to recognize the photo of her attacker when the gendarmes showed her a series of them, “I just remember that she had gray or light blue eyes”.

“I didn’t want to burden him further.”

During the deposition, “I was asked if I wanted to file a complaint against her for violence, I replied that she was probably a kid who was a little lost and that I didn't want to burden her further, that wouldn't was of no use. She wasn't the one who knocked me to the ground, I just tripped trying to run after her. I just filed a complaint for theft of my documents, my keys.”

The day of the theft, a man found Elise's bag under a car on rue de l'Ancienne Poste.

The first thing I asked the female gendarme was to see if my keys were inside. When she told me yes, I was so reassured for my cat…

A young person in the crosshairs of the police

Disappointed by the hospital emergency room who did not even take care to clean her hand wound, Elise was not finished with this painful affair. The following Thursday, through a friend, it was possible to find another victim. “Obviously this happened before me. This time she allegedly attacked a woman working in the field of home help by punching her in the stomach before robbing her.

This 16-year-old residing in Aubewas therefore not her first time, she was apparently already known to the gendarmerie. “I was told that a plainclothes gendarme followed her and that’s how they were able to arrest her the following Thursday while she was at McDonald’s. She would have said that if she stole it was to eat.”

“In Paris, I never suffered that”

Days have passed since this emotional shock, and yet Elise still trembles.

Now I'm afraid of walking in the city and I systematically avoid small streets because I no longer feel safe there. I lived in Paris for several years and I never suffered this. It's serious that we can be the victim of an attack in the middle of the street here in L'Aigle

Despite this trauma, Elise is not extremely angry with the young girl for stealing the bag. “On the other hand, I blame him because this whole affair didn't allow me to enjoy my sick cat as much as I would have liked. He died a few days later and that’s really the most serious thing in my opinion.”

*This is an assumed first name.

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