Two girls aged 6 and 11 were slightly injured this Thursday, April 18 during a knife attack that occurred in Souffelweyersheim, in Bas-Rhin, in the rue de l’école. A suspect has been arrested.
Two girls aged six and 11 were slightly injured on Thursday April 18 during a knife attack near a school in Souffelweyersheim (Bas-Rhin). A suspect was arrested after the incident.
· Two girls attacked with a knife
Shortly after 2 p.m., a knife attack occurred near a school in Souffelweyersheim (Bas-Rhin), this Thursday, April 18. The first little victim, aged 11, was attacked near the school complex. The second, aged six, was attacked not far from a square.
The two girls were taken care of in “relative emergency”, indicated the Bas-Rhin prefecture in a press release. According to AFP, the two little victims were hospitalized in pediatric emergencies for “superficial injuries”.
· A suspect arrested
A suspect was arrested five to ten minutes after the incident in the square on rue de l’école. He no longer had a knife in his hand at the time of his arrest, AFP learned from the gendarmerie. The suspect is a 30-year-old man. According to a Source close to the investigation at BFMTV, he does not seem to have all his mental faculties.
The man is “not known to the services” and his motivations “do not seem to be linked to radicalization” the gendarmerie told AFP. The national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office is, as is often the case in this type of case, in an “assessment” of these facts. But at this stage, there are no particular elements which imply a referral.
The chief of staff of the prefect of Bas-Rhin announced to AFP the opening of an investigation, entrusted to the gendarmerie.
· Students temporarily confined
The children of the elementary school located in the street where the attacks took place were confined to their school, BFM Alsace learned from a municipal councilor.
The confinement was lifted around 4 p.m. and the worried parents were able to collect their children.
“I was panicked thinking about my son, reports a mother to BFM Alsace. And especially since I don’t know what’s happening so we’re a little worried. It pains me to know that Something like that can happen in a school Nowhere is we safer.”
During a situation update, a spokesperson for the prefecture explained to the parents of the students that the situation was under control and that the threat was now over.
“The doubts were resolved by the gendarmerie, the children are safe, there is no longer any danger. (…) Things were done with great professionalism. All the plans were implemented, the children were immediately brought to safety”, announced Jean-Baptiste Peyrat, ensuring that the attacker had not entered the school
· An open psychological cell
The prefecture also announced the opening of a medical-psychological emergency unit within the school concerned. This psychological unit will be extended as long as necessary, the Strasbourg rectorate told BFMTV.
A mobile security team was also mobilized on site. The rector of Strasbourg, Olivier Faron, and the director of departmental national education services (DASEN) also made the trip.
Léo Fleurence, Mathias Tesson, Mélanie Vecchio and Véronique Fèvre, with Charlotte Lesage
