A 49-year-old British man has been charged with attempted murder in Nice after a woman was stabbed three times and left in a critical condition, in an attack said to have been stopped by a neighbour who overpowered the assailant before police arrived.
The woman, aged around 60, remains in a critical condition in hospital. The man, who was also injured during the incident, was hospitalised and remains in custody. It is not yet clear whether the two knew each other.
An attack in the early hours
Officers were called to avenue Georges Clémenceau, near Nice’s main railway station, at around 00:30 on Sunday. According to police sources cited by Nice-Matin, the man was armed with a knife and stabbed the woman three times, once in the abdomen and twice in the head, in the courtyard entrance of the apartment building where she lives.
Anti-crime brigade (BAC) officers who were already patrolling nearby reached the scene shortly after an emergency call was placed, and arrested the suspect.
A neighbour intervenes
The attack was reportedly halted by a 33-year-old neighbour who heard the woman’s cries and rushed to help. He told Nice-Matin he had initially assumed he was witnessing an argument between neighbours and had not seen the knife, before going down to the courtyard to intervene. He said the attacker threatened him in English, warning him not to approach or he would kill him, and that he managed to disarm and restrain the man while trying to stem the victim’s bleeding.
The mayor of Nice, Éric Ciotti, praised the neighbour’s courage in a post on social media, saluting the man who had stepped in and subdued the attacker, as well as the swift action of the BAC.
Investigation under way
The Nice public prosecutor’s office confirmed the man’s age and nationality and said he had been taken into custody in connection with the attack. “The investigation has been entrusted to the criminal investigation unit of the Nice local judicial police force, and will help clarify the circumstances and context of the attack,” the prosecutor said.
Monaco Life is produced by qualified, multi-media journalists writing original content. See more in our free newsletter, follow our Podcasts on Spotify, and check us out on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Tik Tok.