what we know about the death of a 14-year-old boy and the arrest of a 16-year-old suspect

A 14-year-old teenager died on the evening of Friday January 10 in Évreux after being stabbed in the chest. The suspect, a 16-year-old boy, was taken into police custody.

A “tragic death”. These are the words used by the mayor of Évreux, Guy Lefrand (Les Républicains), after the death on the evening of Friday January 10 of a 14-year-old teenager, victim of a stab wound. A 16-year-old suspect was arrested.

• An altercation in the Madeleine district

According to information from the Évreux public prosecutor’s office on BFMTV, the tragedy took place during an altercation, between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., in the Madeleine district, in the south of the city. The 16-year-old suffered at least one stab wound to the youngest, in the chest. The victim died quickly, specifies the prosecution. She would have been transported by her own family to the hospital, where her death was “immediately noted”, according to Rémi Coutin, public prosecutor of Evreux.

A psychological help unit was offered to the victim’s family who refused it. Another should be opened in the establishment where the victim was educated. In the popular Madeleine district, classified as a priority, mediators were deployed on Friday evening and are still there this Saturday. The neighborhood is described as “quiet” by the mayor at present.

“I send my saddened condolences to the family of the young victim. The loss of a child is always a terrible tragedy and the circumstances which caused it add to the immense sadness that we all feel,” shared Guy Lefrand in a press release published this Saturday.

• The suspect placed in police custody

According to the mayor of Évreux, “the alleged suspect spontaneously handed himself in to the police” after the incident. Information still not confirmed by the prosecution. He was taken into custody. His precise motivations remain uncertain at this stage. Police custody should be extended until Sunday and a judicial investigation will be opened. A flagrant investigation into the murder of a minor under the age of 15 is underway.

Neither the alleged perpetrator nor the victim were known to the police.

The prosecutor remained cautious about the origin of the altercation between the two defendants. A press conference on this case will be organized at the Evreux court on Monday.

• Belonging to the “Microbes” group

For Guy Lefrand, “it’s more a story within a group than anything else”. He specifies that both the victim and the suspect were part of the group nicknamed “The Microbes”.

According to the mayor, this is a local petty crime group “which causes trouble in the neighborhood but which was not known for serious crimes until now”. Its members would be between 12 and 16 years old and their families “are supported on a social level”.

Still according to the mayor of Evreux, contacted by AFP, “according to the first elements of the investigation, a romantic quarrel would be at the origin of the facts”.