Woman storms Nice nursery with gun and knife in kidnapping plot, two teachers attacked
A 36-year-old Tunisian-born mother of four stormed a nursery in Nice armed with a gun and knife, attacking two teachers. She has been charged with attempted murder and kidnapping.
Suspected Islamist radical attacks two teachers at Nice nursery school
A 36-year-old mother of four stormed a nursery school in Nice on Monday, pointing a gun at staff and threatening them with a knife in an attack that lasted approximately one hour, the-sun.com reports. The Tunisian-born woman, who was living illegally in France, has since been charged with attempted murder, kidnapping, carrying a weapon, and fraudulent possession of administrative documents.
The woman, whose two children attend the nursery, arrived demanding an urgent meeting with the headmistress. Once inside the office, she raised allegations that one of her children had been sexually assaulted, then produced a handgun. She allegedly slapped the headmistress, pulled her hair, and struck her again before tucking the weapon into her belt.
She then pointed the gun at the headmistress and repeatedly pulled the trigger. No shot was fired. The suspect reportedly claimed the weapon contained just two bullets. She subsequently struck the headmistress in the face with the gun, pulled out a knife, and pressed it against her cheek.
After leaving the office an hour later, the woman confronted a second teacher, allegedly slapping her before cocking the weapon and pointing it at her as well. She then fled the school. CCTV footage led officers to her nearby home, where she was arrested. During the search, police recovered a Laguiole knife and several passports, some suspected to be fake. The handgun was not found.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told MPs on Tuesday that the weapon was "fortunately a fake." Prosecutors, however, said footage appeared to show "an automatic pistol," whilst the headmistress testified that she "felt it was made of metal."
During two days in police custody, the woman denied carrying out the violence but admitted pulling the trigger several times. She insisted she knew the weapon was unloaded and reportedly expressed remorse.
Prosecutors confirmed the woman had previously been identified as a suspected Islamist radical and placed under house arrest. She had also been deported to Tunisia in 2019, then arrested again in France in 2023. Despite being banned from French territory, she remained in the country and regularly reported to police. She also carries two previous convictions.
Nice prosecutor Damien Martinelli confirmed the charges following the attack. The woman was remanded in custody as investigators continued to probe her motive. Education Minister Édouard Geffray said he would visit Nice "at the end of the week" and promised the victims "the long-term protection and support they need."
The suspect is separated from the father of her two youngest children, who has himself been charged with attempted homicide and habitual domestic violence in a separate case in which she is listed as a civil party.
Source: The Sun