Hospital locked down in Nice after stabbing kills man, 27, injures 3
A man, 27, was stabbed to death and 3 others were injured in Nice on Thursday, prosecutors said, after armed men searching for the victims forced a nearby hospital to lock down.
A 27-year-old man was stabbed to death and 3 other people were injured in an attack in eastern Nice on Thursday afternoon, prompting police to lock down the emergency department of a nearby hospital, French authorities said.
The attack happened in the Louis Braille/Fenoglio district, a few hundred metres from the University Hospital of Nice. The local prosecutor's office opened an investigation, including for aggravated murder, and said the circumstances of the violence had still to be clarified.
The victim and the injured were taken to the Pasteur 2 site of Nice University Hospital. Its emergency department announced on Facebook at around 4.30pm that it was imposing a lockdown owing to "exceptional circumstances". The lockdown reflected fears that the violence could spread into the hospital, news outlet ici.fr reported. The hospital's assault alarm was triggered after a man carrying a machete arrived at the site; he was detained and no staff members were hurt, Nice-Matin reported.
Two of the attackers had entered the hospital grounds searching for the injured men, one of them armed with a sword, according to Nice-Matin. Dozens of people gathered on the hospital forecourt as tension rose, and national police sent reinforcements to the scene, asking the public to avoid the area. Nice mayor Eric Ciotti wrote on X that fresh violence had broken out at the location.
The emergency department reopened by early evening, roughly two and a half hours after the lockdown began. Eight people have been taken into police custody, French outlet franceinfo reported.
The district where the stabbing took place has faced recurring violence in recent years linked to turf wars and retaliatory shootings between drug-trafficking networks, according to the Daily Mirror.
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What we know
- A 27-year-old man was stabbed to death and 3 other people injured in Nice on Thursday afternoon, prosecutors said.
- The emergency department at Pasteur 2 Hospital, part of Nice University Hospital, was locked down after a man carrying a machete arrived at the site; he was detained and no staff were hurt.
- Two armed men entered the hospital grounds searching for the injured, one carrying a sword, according to Nice-Matin.
- Eight people have been taken into police custody, French media reported.
- Prosecutors opened an investigation, including for aggravated murder.
Not yet confirmed
- The circumstances and motive behind the attack have not been established, prosecutors said.
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Why it matters for Europe
Armed men were able to follow the wounded into a hospital and search its grounds for them before being stopped, forcing an emergency department serving a major French city to shut its doors during the incident. The district where the attack began has seen recurring drug-related violence in recent years, a pattern of urban crime spilling into public institutions that French police are increasingly having to contain. The episode adds to a run of violent incidents in Nice this month that have put the city's police and emergency services under strain.
Sources
Reported by 3 reports from 3 independent outlets in 3 countries.
- Nice-Matin: Trois ans après une tempête destructrice, le chantier de ce sanctuaire marial proche de Nice touche à sa fin
- Nice-Matin: Il l’a violemment attaqué dans le dos : l’agresseur du gérant de Micromania de Nice activement recherché par la police, un appel à témoins lancé
- Nice-Matin: CRS de Saint-Laurent-du-Var au repos pendant les pillages du 17 octobre à Nice : le préfet des Alpes-Maritimes répond à la polémique
- Daily Mirror: Hospital locked down after man, 27, stabbed to death and three injured in Nice
- Nice-Matin: Quelles aides vont être apportées aux 22 commerces de Nice saccagés et pillés le 17 octobre ? Les mesures d’Éric Ciotti
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Questions and answers
- What happened in Nice?
- A 27-year-old man was stabbed to death and 3 other people were injured in the Louis Braille/Fenoglio district on Thursday afternoon, prosecutors said.
- Why was the hospital locked down?
- Its emergency department was sealed off after a man carrying a machete arrived at the site and two armed men searched the grounds for the injured; no staff were hurt.
- Has anyone been arrested?
- Eight people have been taken into police custody, French outlet franceinfo reported.
This article was written with AI assistance from 6 verified reports and checked under the ECTV editorial policy. Spotted an error? Request a correction.