Paris (France) (AFP) – French police on Friday arrested a man suspected of stabbing three women in the Paris metro as the capital’s end-of-year festivities were in full swing, prosecutors told AFP.
The three victims were attacked at three different locations along the Line 3 metro track that runs across central Paris, the RATP authority that runs the transit service told AFP.
An AFP journalist at the Republique station saw a security team treating a woman who had been wounded in the leg and appeared to be in a state of shock.
The attacks happened between 4:15 pm (1515 GMT) and 4:45 pm at the stations Republique and Arts et Metiers – both next to the Marais district – and the Opera station, the RATP said.
“The victims were quickly taken care of by the emergency services,” it said.
Paris police said two of the women attacked were treated by the emergency services and taken to hospital, but they were not in critical condition. A third woman turned up at hospital seeking treatment, they added.
Police used surveillance-camera footage and mobile-tracking tools to locate the 25-year-old suspected attacker in the Val d’Oise region north of Paris, said prosecutors.
“Activating the gelocation of his mobile phone led to his arrest late afternoon in Val d’Oise,” they said.
“The police are on site. Back-up security teams have been deployed to reinforce safety on the line,” it added.
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