CAEN: A 15-year-old has been stabbed to death in the latest case of teenage violence in France, and the alleged attacker and his mother have been arrested, prosecutors said yesterday.
The country has seen a series of attacks on adolescents by their peers in recent weeks, notably the fatal beating of another 15-year-old called Shemseddine near Paris earlier this month.
The latest victim was killed in a brawl in the central French town of Chateauroux late on Saturday and died in hospital the same evening, regional prosecutor Agnes Auboin said.
The suspect, also 15, was arrested around two hours after the fight and taken into custody, said Auboin.
She also said that there was evidence suggesting that the 37-year-old mother of the teenage suspect might have been involved.
The woman, who has no previous criminal record, was also taken into custody.
The victim, an apprentice chef and son of a restaurant owner, had no previous criminal record and was accompanied by a friend, also an apprentice, at the time of the incident, according to a source close to the case.
Authorities have launched an investigation into voluntary manslaughter.
The presumed attacker “has never been convicted of a criminal offence and has no criminal record”, according to the prosecutor.
But he had been placed under judicial supervision earlier this month following other offences.
A witness interviewed by AFP said the boy was among a group of assailants who had attacked a 22-year-old man in a local park a week earlier.
The witness said he had “run over and … filmed the scene” to put an end to the attack.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal has announced measures to crack down on teenage violence.
