LA VERRIERE (France) - A BABY was killed and several more people
seriously injured when a family of 11 threw itself from a
third-floor flat to flee a man they mistook for the devil, French
investigators said.
The bizarre tragedy came to light on Saturday when firefighters
were called to the village of La Verriere on the outskirts of Paris
following reports that sever al people had jumped from a balcony in
a social housing block. Among the injured they found an entirely
naked man of African origin with a knife wound in his hand and two
children, a baby and a two-year-old girl. The baby died later after
receiving hospital treatment in Paris.
The assistant prosecutor from Versailles, Odile Faivre, told
reporters the incident began in the early hours when a group of 13
people were watching television in an apartment and the naked man
heard the baby cry. 'The man got up to prepare a bottle for the
baby when his wife, seeing him, screamed 'It's the devil, it's the
devil',' she explained.
In the confusion following this apparent case of mistaken
identity, the naked man's sister-in-law stabbed him in the hand and
he was ejected through the front door of the flat. When he
attempted to get back in, panic erupted.
'The other occupants of the flat fled by jumping out of the
window,' Mr Faivre said. According to police, one man jumped with
the two-year-old in his arms and crawled two blocks away to hide in
bushes, screaming: 'I had to defend myself.'
Investigators found no trace of hallucinogenic substances in the
apartment and no evidence that any occult ritual had taken place.
Seven of those who jumped were taken to hospital, some with
multiple injuries. 'A number of points remain to be cleared up,' Mr
Faivre said. -- AFP
Source:
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_594708.html
