The attack took place early Sunday afternoon, according to the Rhône prefecture. Passengers had earlier reported the erratic behaviour of an individual wielding a knife.
ADVERTISEMENTA 27-year-old Moroccan man was arrested and taken into police custody following a knife attack that injured four people in the Lyon metro on Sunday afternoon.
"An individual armed with a knife injured four people in the Lyon metro between the Debourg and Place Jean-Jaurès stations," Lyon public prosecutor Thierry Dran informed local media.
The suspect, previously unknown to the police, has been hospitalised multiple times for psychiatric issues and has been subject to an obligation to leave French territory since 2022, Fabienne Buccio, Prefect of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and Prefect of the Rhône, told BFMTV.
"Two victims were in critical condition, one was moderately injured, and another sustained minor injuries," a prefecture release said.
"Several traumatised witnesses received psychological support," the statement added.
The suspect has reportedly been taken into police custody, with investigations entrusted to the Lyon interdepartmental directorate of the national police (DIPN).
According to a police source, two of the injured were stabbed in the abdomen and another in the arm. Firefighters reported that two victims were treated in the metro in critical condition.
The main victim, who suffered the most severe injuries, was a 17-year-old unaccompanied minor from Guinea, according to a police source.
"The City of Lyon condemns this particularly serious act," Mohamed Chihi, deputy mayor responsible for security, posted on X.
Rhône prefect Fabienne Buccio expressed her "support" for the victims and their families, thanked the "staff of the interdepartmental directorate of the national police for the swift arrest of the suspect," and praised the intervention of the fire department and the ambulance service.