By Jade Le Deley, Associated Press (AP News) | Several suspects around France have been detained or given preliminary charges in recent days for allegedly pricking people with a needle in nightclubs or at concerts, following a surge in needle attacks that have confounded authorities and seeded panic among young club-goers.
The French Interior Ministry, prosecutors, the national anti-drug agency, public health authorities and doctors have not determined a motive for the attacks, or whether the victims were injected with drugs, viruses or any substance at all.
Since January, 1,004 people have filed formal complaints with French authorities about such needle pricks, an Interior Ministry official told The Associated Press.
In the cases so far that resulted in charges, medical tests did not reveal any signs of harmful substances, including so-called date rape drug GHB, authorities said. The suspects have denied all allegations.
The targeted individuals, who are mostly women, show visible marks of injection, often bruises, and report symptoms like feeling groggy. The ministry official urged caution in assuming a link between the needle pricks and GHB.
After months of fruitless investigations, authorities in the Mediterranean city of Toulon arrested a 20-year-old man suspected of pricking three women with a needle on the night of June 3-4, during the recording of a concert for TV. He was the first suspect given preliminary charges, for “aggravated violence with a weapon (a syringe) with premeditation.”
A teenage girl and a woman reported that a man tried to attack them with a syringe and was violent toward them as they waited in line for the event.
The third victim, a female security agent, encountered the same man at the concert. She then fainted, and an injection mark was spotted on her hand, and she was hospitalized. The Toulon prosecutor is awaiting the results of her blood tests.
The prosecutor, Samuel Finielz, told The Associated Press that “the suspect denies all allegations and is still presumed innocent.” No syringe was found in his apartment. He remains in custody.
> > > > > > > > > >
Read the full story here:
https://apnews.com/article/politics-health-france-6393fa14fc4b2f651a3e491281d36c6d?utm_source=Connatix&utm
[Thanks to Alex Teitz for contributing this article! http://www.femmusic.com ]
Suspects Charged Over Puzzling Needle Attacks in France
