Thouars (France) (AFP)
A 30-year-old nurse was fatally injured on Thursday with a stabbing knife by a patient of a psychiatric unit in Thouars (Deux-Sèvres), who was placed in police custody, we learned from judicial source.
"An investigation into flagrancy has been opened for murder and attempted murder of persons charged with a public service mission," said the prosecution.
The nurse, mother of two, was attacked by a patient, 20 years old, who was trying to leave this unit of the Center hospitalier Nord Deux-Sèvres. He allegedly stabbed her in the chest, failing to also injure another nurse, the same source said.
Helicoptered to the Poitiers University Hospital, the young woman died in the afternoon.
"One of the priorities of the investigation is to know how the suspect obtained a stabbing weapon," said Natacha Rateau, public prosecutor in Niort.
The alleged attacker, interned for a fortnight, was arrested and placed in police custody after being seen by a psychiatrist.
"This kind of escape attempt occurs regularly, but it was impossible to foresee that this patient would be armed with a knife," observed one of the victim's colleagues. "This highlights the lack of resources of the hospital in general and of psychiatry in particular," he said.
The investigation was entrusted to the Poitiers judicial police.
© 2020 AFP