Two policewomen were attacked with a saber by a 36-year-old man Thursday afternoon in Cherbourg (Manche). The facts took place around 3:45 p.m. when the individual had just stolen a car after threatening the driver with his gun. He then lost control of the vehicle near a roundabout in Tourlaville, a former town attached to Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.
Just then a police patrol was passing. “He threw himself on the policewomen with a saber and wounded them in the face,” said Yves Le Clair, public prosecutor in Cherbourg, who spoke of “superficial wounds” and dismissed any terrorist motivation. “There is no specific claim,” said the magistrate.
Several knives found in his bags
The first policewoman was hit in the chin while the second was stabbed 5 centimeters above the right ear. Two other police officers then opened fire, hitting the assailant several times. Aware of the arrival of help, the suspect was evacuated by helicopter to the hospital in Caen. He was carrying “many bladed weapons”, including knives, divided into two different bags, according to the prosecutor.
During an intervention on a vehicle theft in Cherbourg, two police officers were injured. Support for the national police.
– Gerald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) December 2, 2021
The man was known to justice for “facts related to narcotics”, according to the same source. His last conviction, for driving under the influence of narcotics, dated back to 2016. Born in January 1985, he will be subjected to toxicological analyzes to find out if he was under the influence of narcotics at the time of the facts.