PARIS (AP) – Across France, more than 300 people have reported being stabbed from the sky with needles in nightclubs or concerts in recent months. Doctors and many prosecutors are on the case, but no one knows who did it or why, and whether the victims were injected with drugs – or in fact any substance.
Club owners and police are trying to raise awareness, and the rapper even interrupted his recent show to warn concertgoers of the risk of sudden needle attacks.
It’s not just France: the UK government is investigating a wave of needle sticks there, and police in Belgium and the Netherlands are also investigating scattered cases.
On May 4, 18-year-old Thomas Lo attended a rap concert in Lille, northern France, where he smoked some marijuana and drank some alcohol during the show. When he returned home, he told the Associated Press, he felt dizzy and had a headache – and noticed a strange small puncture on the skin of his arm and bruises.
The next morning the symptoms did not go away, and Laux went to his doctor, who advised him to go to the emergency room. Doctors confirmed evidence of a needle prick, and Laux was tested for HIV and hepatitis. His results were negative, as with other victims so far.
“I’ve refused to go to concerts since it happened,” Locks said.
Hundreds of kilometers (miles) away, Liane Desnos recounted a similar experience after going to a club in the southwestern city of Bordeaux in April. Desnos, also 18, fainted the next day and felt dizzy and hot flashes while at a fast food restaurant. When she got home, she realized there was a trace of an injection on her arm. After seeing testimonies on social media about the mysterious poor, she went to a clinic to be tested for infections. She is still waiting for results.
People from Paris, Toulouse, Nantes, Nancy, Rennes and other cities around France reported being stabbed without their knowledge or permission. Targeted individuals, mostly women, showed visible signs of injection, often bruising, and reported symptoms such as a feeling of decline.
France’s National Police Agency says 302 people have filed formal complaints about such needle pricks. Several police investigations are ongoing in different regions, but no suspects have yet been identified, no needle has been found and the motive remains unclear.
There are no victims who have reported sexual violence; one said he was robbed in Grenoble in April, according to Le Monde.
Two people tested positive for GHB and may have swallowed the drug in a drink, according to a National Police Agency official. GHB, a powerful anesthetic used by predators seeking sexual assault or assault on victims, can be detected in the urine in just 12 hours, a police officer said.
The official and a doctor who took the lead in dealing with the phenomenon expressed suspicion that the sting in the nightclub contained GHB, noting that in order to penetrate through a needle, the drug must be injected in a few seconds, which most victims would notice.
“We have not found any drugs or substances or objective evidence to indicate … the use of a substance with unlawful or criminal intent. “What we fear most are people infected with HIV, hepatitis or any other infectious disease,” said Dr. Emanuel Puscarczyk, head of the Poison Control Center in the eastern French city of Nancy.
A special procedure has been set up at the Nancy Hospital to optimize the care of the victims. Patients who show symptoms such as dizziness are treated and blood and urine samples are stored for five days in case anyone wants to press charges.
“Every case is different. We see traces of injections, but some people have no symptoms. “When potential victims have symptoms such as discomfort or black holes (in their memory), they are not specific,” Puscarchik said.
The police officer, who is not authorized to be named publicly under national police policy, said: “At this stage, we cannot talk about a specific course of action. There are no similarities between the cases. The only thing like that is that people are injected with a needle in a festive context in different parts of France. “
As club-goers express fear on social media and media coverage fuel anxiety, the French Interior Ministry launched a national awareness-raising campaign this month. Police hand out leaflets to clubs and discuss prevention measures with club owners.
In the UK, Parliament issued a report in April on drinking and drinking needles in pubs and nightclubs following a sudden rise in similar incidents last year. It says police reported about 1,000 cases of needle injections across the country around October 2021, when many students returned to campuses after easing restrictions on coronavirus.
However, the parliament’s report says there is no data to assess how serious the issue is. It is unclear whether anyone was prosecuted for needle pricking or how many victims were injected with drugs or other substances.
“No one knows how common urination is, whether through a drink, a drug or a needle, and no one knows what makes the perpetrators do it. “Anecdotal evidence shows that the practice is widespread and dangerous,” the statement said.
A series of similar incidents with people being stabbed with needles in nightclubs, a football match and during the Belgian Pride Parade have been reported in neighboring Belgium. Last month, the Brussels prosecutor’s office launched two investigations following complaints from women who said they had been stabbed during a pride parade in central Brussels. The organizers of the march said in a statement that they were informed about several cases and called for potential victims to be examined in hospitals.
Back in France, while investigations continued without finding perpetrators, rapper Dinos interrupted his concert in Strasbourg this week to warn his fans about the risks and insisted: “This must stop.”
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Sylvia Hui in London and Samuel Petreken in Brussels contributed.
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