On the sidewalk, brownish traces still litter the few meters which separate a laundromat and a supermarket from rue de la Tombe-Issoire.
This is the blood of a 35-year-old man, stabbed this Monday evening in the 14th arrondissement of Paris while he was with his partner.
“I heard a woman screaming,” testifies a trader who was in the front row.
And then I saw the man collapse to the ground.
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According to our information, the victim was walking on the sidewalk when a man came up to him and allegedly uttered several anti-Semitic remarks before stabbing him six times in the back.
When contacted, the Paris public prosecutor's office confirmed that it had "opened an investigation into the offense of attempted murder on grounds of religion, following a knife attack that occurred on February 12."
The alleged perpetrator would be a childhood friend
“His vital prognosis is not in jeopardy but the victim was taken to hospital,” the prosecution further specifies.
The investigations were entrusted to the 3rd judicial police district in order to unravel how the drama unfolded.
According to the first elements of the investigation, it was around 6:30 p.m. when the victim was attacked.
After committing his act, the alleged perpetrator fled towards rue Père-Corentin (14th century).
“There were a lot of people around the man who was stabbed, including a lady who seemed to be treating him,” reports a building caretaker.
Then the firefighters arrived, followed by the police.
» Quickly, the officials collected the testimonies of the injured man and his partner.
The alleged perpetrator, also 35 years old, is said to be a childhood friend of the victim.
Also read: “My children wear a cap on their yarmulke”: the disrupted lives of French Jews facing anti-Semitism
After losing sight of each other for several years, the two friends reconnected recently.
But according to the victim, his former friend was obsessed with the Jewish faith.
He even received several threats, malicious phone calls and anti-Semitic insults from the suspect, prompting him to file a complaint.
Identified, the suspect was finally arrested three hours later at his home, in the 18th arrondissement.
This Tuesday morning, many heard about the attack, without necessarily knowing the alleged motive.
“I thought it was a story between drug dealers,” slips a local resident.
Another trader had heard of a “neighborhood conflict”.
“The world has gone crazy,” sighs a fruit and vegetable seller, at the mention of the author’s potential motivation.
However, here, it is usually rather calm.
Everyone knows each other.
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