A man was arrested this Sunday, April 24 after a knife attack in the Saint-Pierre-d’Arène church located rue de la Buffa in Nice. He is suspected of assaulting a priest and a nun with a knife just before the start of mass around 10:30 a.m. His victims are injured but their lives are not in danger. The main suspect in this case was arrested on the spot jointly and very quickly after the fact, by the municipal and national police without using weapons.
The track of an unbalanced studied
The attacker is a 31-year-old man of French nationality. His name is Kévin and he was born in the Var in Fréjus. He lives in Nice. “A priori we are on the act of an unbalanced”, declared the prefect of the Alpes Maritimes on the spot. According to the authorities, he has already stayed at the Sainte-Marie hospital in Nice for psychiatric disorders. The Public Prosecutor of Nice affirms that he has no criminal record and that he is not on file either.
“Kill Emmanuel Macron”
At the time of his arrest, this man justified his act to the police. He says he wanted “kill Emmanuel Macron” on this day of presidential election but that finally he “folded down” on a church. The mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi also declared that this gesture could be premeditated since, according to the elected official, the suspect “acquired a seven centimeter long knife a few days ago”.
A faithful known to the parish
In addition, the suspect is also a faithful known to the priest attacked this Sunday, April 24. “During the preparation for the mass, a young parishioner rather known by the father came. The discussion began and at one point he took out a knife and kicked him. But he had nothing against him It was a slightly distorted vision of reality since he wanted to kill the President of the Republic. But hey, the President of the Republic not being in the church he attacked him. Sister Marie- Claude intervened and they were both beaten. The parishioners who were there immediately called the police”, explains Gil Fiorini, the dean priest of the church of Saint-Pierre-d’Arène.
“I don’t know how to say it because I’m not a psychiatrist, but he was someone who can look like bipolar. There were days when he was exuberant, kind, happy, with big smiles, he kissed everyone. And then there were days when it was less like that. And today must have been a bad day”, he adds. Nevertheless “caution is required” recalls the public prosecutor of Nice. The investigation is therefore continuing to clarify the motivations of this individual. She is handed over to the police. and is open for “attempted homicide” and “violence with a weapon”.