Toulouse. A man follows a girl out of the subway and threatens her with a knife
A 42-year-old man, already convicted 10 times, followed a girl in the Toulouse metro before threatening her with a knife. Without the intervention of the metro security service, the situation could have become catastrophic.
She owes her salvation only to the metro security service. On August 10, when this lady goes up the escalator at Jeanne d’Arc station in Toulouse, words whispered by a stranger make her blood run cold. It is 1:30 p.m. but this 42-year-old man has been following her for a few minutes already. He holds a knife in his hand and is very threatening. “I’m going to kill you,” he insists.
Panicking, the victim quickens the pace, without managing to outrun the disturbing individual. He eventually catches up to her and knocks her to the ground. She struggles to get out of the trap but is stabbed in the finger. Agents of Tisséo, witnesses of the scene, quickly approach to help her. Their action makes it possible to move away the aggressor, who flees. The woman’s wound is superficial but that does not prevent the forces of order from developing.
A schizophrenic out of treatment
Aided by the city’s surveillance cameras, the national police set off in pursuit. The officials still see him at the metro level, where he lowers his pants to expose his genitals… Then the furious man leaves in the direction of Place Arnaud Bernard. He meets the customers of a bar and threatens them in turn. Finally, the situation calms down thanks to the intervention of several waiters, before the police handcuffs him.
While in police custody, the suspect denies some of the facts. And he makes very incoherent remarks. Present at the bar of the criminal court on Tuesday, he explains: “I am schizophrenic. I could not see a doctor for a month, which prevented me from renewing my treatment. I had this crisis , it’s true. But I wasn’t going to hurt anyone. I just wanted to scare, “says this forty-something who has ten convictions.
From the box of the defendants, his behavior intrigues. His mental state worries the prosecutor, who demands a report for the hearing. The trial was eventually adjourned pending a psychiatric assessment.