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CRIME

Woman, 75, held in Basel over fatal stabbing of seven-year-old boy

A seven-year-old boy was stabbed to death walking home from school in Switzerland Thursday, police said, adding that a 75-year-old woman had turned herself in.

Published: 21 March 2019 19:49 CET
Woman, 75, held in Basel over fatal stabbing of seven-year-old boy
Basel's Gotthelf neighbourhood where Thursday's deadly attack occurred. Photo: Basel Statistics Department

A seven-year-old boy was stabbed to death walking home from school in Switzerland Thursday, police said, adding that a 75-year-old woman had turned herself in.

Read all the latest news on this story here.

The child was attacked while he was walking alone home from school in the northern Swiss city of Basel at around 12:30 pm, local police said in a statement.

The boy's teacher found him lying on the ground in a serious condition and called for an ambulance. Despite efforts to resuscitate him, he was declared dead at the hospital, police said.

Shortly after the stabbing, a 75-year-old woman turned herself into authorities, admitting to having attacked the child, and was arrested.

Police said they were still investigating the motive of the crime.

Speaking to Swiss media, the spokesperson for the state prosecutors office in the canton of Basel, Peter Gill, described Thursday's attack as a “very serious” and “terrible” crime.

He said investigators had “absolutely no idea” what the motive for the attack might have been.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Basel-Stadt education department said school psychologists would be on hand on Friday morning to talk to classmates and schoolmates of the murdered boy.

 

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LAUSANNE

American tourist ‘violently attacked’ in Lausanne

A woman visiting from the United States was stabbed during a robbery attempt while sightseeing in the Swiss city of Lausanne.

Published: 19 June 2024 12:15 CEST
American tourist 'violently attacked' in Lausanne

The attack occurred at the end of May, but the Swiss media reported it on Tuesday.

The victim, in her 50s, was “violently” attacked by a man with a knife while sightseeing in the Old Town, according to Lausanne’s newspaper 24 Heures. The attempted robbery was confirmed by local police.

The tourist was stabbed in the shoulder as the assailant tried to flee with her bag.

A local shopkeeper said she was “alerted by cries of distress in English” and witnessed the victim “lying on the ground and trying to defend herself against a man who was attacking her. The scene was extremely violent.”

Even though passersby attempted to intercept the attacker, he managed to escape.

He was, however, caught and arrested shortly thereafter. Police said the perpatrator was known for prior criminal acts.

This was the second case of a brutal attack in Switzerland  against a US tourist in a span of several months.

In February, an American woman was raped and beaten in Geneva. 

The suspect in that case lived in France and, according to the Geneva prosecutor’s office, was arrested “outside Switzerland.” 

Does this mean the two cities are unsafe for tourists?

Lausanne police said that no incidents “targeting tourists in particular” have been reported in the Vaud capital.

But reading about these attacks probably doesn’t fill you with confidence regarding your personal security in Switzerland.

Still, you should put these unfortunate incidents in perspective.

That’s because Switzerland consistently ranks among the least risky nations in the world, both in terms of personal safety and overall crime rate.

Not only is crime limited in scope, but other statistics also indicate that, in comparison with other countries, Switzerland is very safe.

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