"I ask tomorrow noon, in all hospitals, a minute of silence in tribute to Carène", a 37-year-old caregiver whose fatal attack "is a tragedy that destroys us all," said Health Minister François Braun at the Santexpo exhibition organized by the France Hospital Federation (FHF).

A first minute of silence must be respected from Tuesday at 13:30 pm in the hospital of the caregiver, Carène Mezino, deceased despite "the many hours of care in the operating room and in intensive care", announced the CHU in a statement.

Assaulted Monday, this nurse died "in the middle of the night", said the prosecutor of the Republic of Reims, Matthieu Bourrette, Tuesday morning, specifying that "the facts alleged to the custody" had been "requalified as murder".

A medical secretary was also injured in the stabbing attack by a 59-year-old man with a long psychiatric history.

"Reinforced curatorship"

François Braun, who went Monday evening to the hospital of Reims, assured that a meeting would be organized in the week with the professionals of the sector to implement "all the useful measures to preserve the safety and preserve the life" of the caregivers.

The facts took place in the occupational medicine unit for hospital staff, which does not welcome outsiders, but is located next to the psychiatric department where the alleged attacker was followed, said Sandrine Calvy, head of CGT-Health in the Marne.

The attack "took place in the locker room," Valerie Rozalski, CGT general secretary of the hospital, told the hospital. "A priori, she had stained her blouse and she was going to change. And she got attacked."

Health Minister François Braun (l) and Reims mayor Arnaud Robinet (r) arrive at Reims University Hospital where a nurse and a medical secretary were attacked with a knife, May 22, 2023 © FRANCOIS NASCIMBENI / AFP

The accused, quickly arrested, "seems to have acted without apparent motive, especially since he had no appointment in this service," said the prosecutor of Reims Monday.

This man "seems to suffer from severe disorders and has been the subject of a reinforced curatorship measure for several years". The investigation is entrusted to the central police station of Reims.

"Mentally ill"

The alleged aggressor had benefited in June 2022 from a dismissal "for criminal irresponsibility" after being "indicted in Châlons-en-Champagne for acts of aggravated violence", had added the prosecutor.

Expressing her "great sadness", the head of government Elisabeth Borne associated this drama with the death of three police officers of the North Sunday in a collision and that of an agent of the Interdepartmental Directorate of Atlantic Roads (Dira) mowed down by a car Monday in Charente-Maritime.

The "daily" commitment of public officials "is essential to the proper functioning of our country," she insisted.

The boss of LR Eric Ciotti asked him on RMC-BFMTV "a great psychiatry plan" after this "terrifying murder".

An ambulance arrives at Reims University Hospital, where a nurse and a medical secretary were attacked with a knife, May 22, 2023 © FRANCOIS NASCIMBENI / AFP

Denouncing "the catastrophic situation of the care of the mentally ill" in psychiatric institutions, the second union in the sector, Force Ouvrière, demanded "means for the hospital" after "this monstrous act".

While incivility is frequent in hospitals, serious attacks on healthcare workers in health facilities remain relatively rare, with the most dramatic taking place in psychiatric institutions.

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© 2023 AFP