Machetes seem to be becoming a weapon of choice in European street fighting these days. A brawl broke out among a group of men at the Bagatelle metro station in the city of Toulouse in southern France last Saturday, which featured these weapons.
At around 6 p.m., three men began fighting on the station’s platform as surprised passersby looked on. One of the men finally drew a machete and began hitting the others with it.
Security cameras captured the violent altercation. By the time police arrived, however, all three men had already fled. Officers recovered the blood-covered machete at the scene, as well as a jacket left behind by one of the men at the University of Toulouse station.
At first there were no leads. Less than an hour after the fight, however, local police received a call from the Purpan Hospital informing them that two men had just been admitted who had knife-inflicted wounds. One of them had been hit on the head, while the other was injured on his hand.
🇬🇧🚨 Another massive machete battle outside Westfield shopping center in multicultural London. pic.twitter.com/IBBUaP87Gh
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) January 8, 2025
One of the victims refused to cooperate with the investigation, but the other agreed to make a statement, after which a suspect was taken into custody. This suspect was eventually released, however, as the investigators ruled out his participation, according to French news outlet La Depeche.
The motive for the fight, as well as the identity of the machete-wielding attacker, remains unknown as of now. An investigation remains ongoing.
Random stabbings and attacks in the French metro system are commonplace. Just in January, a suspect stabbed another man in the neck after he was accidentally bumped near the stairs in the Guillotière metro station in the French city of Lyon. The suspect has been on the run.
JUST IN: 🇫🇷🚨 A suspect stabbed another man in the neck after he was accidentally bumped near the stairs in the Guillotière metro station in the French city of Lyon.
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) January 28, 2025
The suspect has been on the run since Sunday. .pic.twitter.com/i2FzoUdDzd