A 21-year-old Senegalese national has been arrested in France for a violent attack in which two men were stabbed multiple times and two women were assaulted in two separate attacks in the northern city of Rouen.
The first incident took place on the evening of July 19 in a restaurant on the Place du Vieux-Marché. According to local media, the attacker, who was a staff member at the Cancan restaurant, stabbed a colleague several times. Local reports suggest an argument ensued after the assailant was asked to “clean a cutting board” by his victim.
The attacker proceeded to flee the scene, allowing a Spanish doctor, who was on vacation, to intervene and provide the victim with first aid before he was transferred to the hospital.
The suspect was arrested at 5:30 a.m. in an apartment on Place de la Rougemare after police were called following a second incident in which a second man was stabbed in the buttocks. Two women are also understood to have been assaulted in the violent exchange.
Initial screenings suggest the perpetrator was not under the influence of alcohol; further drug tests were ordered but have not yet been reported on.
The suspect was immediately taken into custody. After initially giving a false identity, he was finally identified as the alleged perpetrator of the events that occurred earlier at the Cancan restaurant.
Late on Wednesday afternoon, the owner of the restaurant, Pierre Guéret, provided an update via social media on the condition of the injured employee.
“It’s a pretty good sign, he texted his colleagues, he’s out of the woods,” Guéret said, revealing that the restaurant had been closed for the day following the incident.
“The restaurant manager will see how long we will remain closed,” he added.
“We are doing everything we can to support our employees and the customers present last night in this ordeal whom we invite to contact us if necessary,” the restaurant added in a Facebook post.