Four people injured in knife attack in Lyon metro

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A 27-year-old Moroccan man was arrested and taken into police custody after four people were injured in a knife attack on the Lyon metro on Sunday afternoon.

“A person armed with a knife injured four people in the Lyon metro between the Debourg and Place Jean-Jaurès stations,” Lyon prosecutor Thierry Dran informed local media.

The suspect, previously unknown to police, has been hospitalized several times for psychiatric problems and has been subject to an obligation to leave French territory since 2022, Fabienne Buccio, prefect of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and prefect of the Rhône, told BFMTV.

“Two victims were in critical condition, one was moderately injured, another suffered minor injuries,” the prefecture said in a press release.

“Several traumatized witnesses received psychological support,” the statement continued.

The suspect was reportedly taken into police custody and the investigation was transferred to the Interdepartmental Directorate of the National Police (DIPN) in Lyon.

According to a police source, two of the injured were stabbed in the stomach and another in the arm. Firefighters reported that two victims were treated in critical condition on the subway.

The main victim, who suffered the most serious injuries, was a 17-year-old unaccompanied minor from Guinea, according to a police source.

“The city of Lyon condemns this particularly serious act,” posted Mohamed Chihi, deputy mayor and responsible for security, on X.

Rhône Prefect Fabienne Buccio expressed her “support” to the victims and their families, thanked the “staff of the Interdepartmental Directorate of the National Police for the rapid arrest of the suspect” and praised the intervention of the fire brigade and rescue services.