France: Two People-Mother and Son- in Critical Condition After Being Stabbed

Moroccan man in custody

Thursday evening in the French town of Lucé (Eure-et-Loir), near Chartres, two people, a woman in her 60s and her son in his 40s, were stabbed and seriously injured by a man who gained access to their apartment building. The attack appeared random and without any provocation. Later, a Moroccan man in his 30s was arrested and charged with the crime. The suspect had been convicted numerous times since his arrival in France in 2002 but was never deported supposedly because his mental condition required care. 

Scene of the crime

-L'Echo Republicain

The below article in L'Echo Republicain, translated by Fousesquawk, explains why this man was still in France. Meanwhile, two people are fighting for their lives.

A woman and her son seriously injured, suspect in custody for attempted murder.......What we know about the knife attack in Eure-et-Loir.

A man born in 1986 is suspected of having attacked and seriously injured a woman and her son with a knife in the lobby of an apartment building on rue de Bruxelles in Lucé (Eure-et-Loir) Thursday, 13 February around 5 pm. The condition of the two injured persons is reportedly critical, according to our information.

- By  Laurence Franceschina, Thierry Delaunay et Sébastien Couratin

Posted 13 February 2025 at 18:56-Updated 14 February 2025 at 19:07

Caption: The attack occurred in the quarter of Bruxelles in Lucé (Archives photo)

A 67-year-old woman and her 42-year-old son were the victims of a knife attack and seriously injured in the lobby of an apartment building on rue de Bruxelles in Lucé, Thursday 13 February around 5 pm.

The information concerning this attack was confirmed to us by the Prosecutor of the Republic in Chartres and the Prefecture of Eure-et-Loir, who posted a press release around 7 pm.

Also according to our sources, a man, born in 1986, is suspected of having attacked the two victims, using a knife, seemingly with no apparent reason.

Injuries to the stomach and chest

The two injured persons, in a situation of absolute emergency, were transported to the Hospital Center of Coudray. Their condition was critical on Thursday evening.

Reached by telephone, Frederic Chevallier, the Republican Prosecutor of Chartres, detailed the initial elements gathered by the investigators. The suspect, he explains, resides in a building at number 17 rue de Bruxelles with his mother and sister.

On Thursday, around 5 pm, the suspect, presumed innocent, for a reason as yet undetermined, reportedly activated several rings on the intercom of building 25 on the same street until a person opened. 

Once inside the lobby, he reportedly rang the residence of the 67-year-old woman, who opened her door. At that moment, the 30-something-year-old reportedly struck her in the stomach before injuring her son in the chest.

The man then reportedly fled and returned to his residence as a neighbor of the two victims and his own family alerted rescue services.

In custody for attempted murder

The suspect was quickly arrested by police and placed in custody on charges of attempted murder.  He had been the object, says the Prefecture in a press release, "of a total hospital lockdown since September 2024 and had been under the care of a branch of the Henri-Ey Hospital in Lucé."

This man of Moroccan nationality, who has been residing in France since 2002, has been convicted several times in the past years, according to judicial and police sources. These verdicts concern cases of drug traffic, resistance, and violence against public officials.

Prosecuted in 2023 for armed violence, he was judged criminally incompetent, according to the prosecutor, and was hospitalized for psychiatric problems.

These convictions and his situation "justified the non-renewal of his residence permit in October 2024," states the prefecture. In accordance with the regulation in effect, "a reduction of status in the form of a temporary authorization of stay (APS) of 6 months was in the progress of being issued."

The APS is a document that permits its holder to reside on an exceptional and one-time basis in France, for example, to receive (medical) care, receive a diploma, or process an asylum request, without benefitting from certain rights accorded to other foreign nationals, such as the possibility of working or receiving certain (forms of) support.

Search in progress

Because his state of health necessitated that care be provided to him, this man was the object of an APS and not, for example, an Obligation to Leave French Territory (OQTF), which the non-renewal of his residence permit could have triggered, but which his medical situation did not allow to be put into force.

In the early evening, a search was carried out in the residence of this 30-year-old.

Contacted, Florent Gauthier, mayor of Lucé, (expressed his thoughts) for the two victims and their family. "I'm letting the investigation play out," he stated.