A couple in their seventies were seriously injured in a brutal stabbing attack on Saturday in the food court of a mall in the French city of Amboise. A 54-year-old Moroccan migrant has since been arrested and charged with attempted murder.
The 78-year-old man and the 73-year-old woman were ambushed and stabbed multiple times inside the food court in the Leclerc shopping center at 3:00 p.m. The attacker, armed with a butcher’s knife, was quickly subdued by a crowd of people and placed under arrest, according to the Tours prosecutor’s office, but not before he inflicted serious and life-threatening injuries on the victims.
One of the victims was stabbed in the head and thorax, while the second was stabbed in the neck and thorax, resulting in a horrifying scene during the busy holiday shopping season; the mall was crowded especially due to Black Friday deals.
“The perpetrator of the attack was neutralized by an employee of the restaurant, then by the security guards,” stated the public prosecutor of Tours, Catherine Sorita-Minard.
Prosecutors say it appears the perpetrator knew the victims, according to French news outlet Actu 17. Authorities are still working to establish a motive.
The victims were transported by emergency services to the Tours hospital, where the male nearly lost his life. Doctors operated on both victims, with both of them no longer in critical condition.
The perpetrator had his detention extended; the prosecution believes he planned his act in advance.
“Born in 1969 in Morocco and of Moroccan nationality, the suspect recognizes the facts at this stage, but gives unclear explanations about his motive. There seems to be a dispute that the suspect had with the victims,” said the judge in the case.
Last October, the suspect was placed under judicial supervision by the Tours public prosecutor’s office due to alleged threats he directed against his ex-partner.
