A woman died after being stabbed in the street on Sunday morning in Nantes, as she was leaving for work, we learned from the firefighters. The firefighters were alerted around 6:30 a.m. to the attack on a woman on the public road on boulevard Jean-Moulin, Bellevue district. An investigation has been opened, announced the public prosecutor of Nantes. The suspect fled, according to three witnesses who witnessed the attack, which occurred for an as yet undetermined reason, said prosecutor Renaud Gaudeul during a press briefing.
A revival of the question of insecurity in Nantes
According to the magistrate, the victim is a cleaning lady in a health establishment. “She had just left her home in the immediate vicinity of the scene of the attack and was on her way to work,” he explained. The victim’s body has “nearly a dozen sharp wounds on the upper body”, added the prosecutor.
Mother of four adult children, the victim lived alone with two of her children, added the magistrate. Of French nationality, she was “probably veiled” and had been living apart for several years. “An investigation has been opened for intentional homicide”, indicated Mr. Gaudel, adding that there is “no arrest at this stage”. The judicial police have been seized of the investigation. An autopsy is scheduled for Monday morning.
The 47-year-old victim, according to firefighters, “quickly fell unconscious and then went into cardio-respiratory arrest when help arrived”. She could not be revived and was pronounced dead at the scene, they said in a statement. The mayor of Nantes, Johanna Rolland (PS), confirmed “the death of a woman in Bellevue after a stabbing this (Sunday) morning”.
Death of a woman in Bellevue after stabbing this morning. I am in constant contact with the @Prefect44 and the Public Prosecutor. Everything is done to find the author of this appalling crime. All my support to the family and loved ones of the victim
— Johanna Rolland (@Johanna_Rolland) October 16, 2022
“I am in constant contact with the @Prefet44 and the Public Prosecutor. Everything is being done to find the author of this appalling crime”, assured Ms. Rolland on Twitter, sending “all (her) support to the family and relatives of the victim.
The homicide occurred three weeks after the September 24 rape of a 40-year-old woman in downtown Nantes, sparking a debate over the city’s security. These last facts had occurred on a Saturday shortly before 6 a.m. on the island of Nantes, near the yellow crane. The victim said she was going to a friend’s house when she was assaulted. In this case, two men of Sudanese nationality were implicated and imprisoned.