Boy stabbed in Basel: motive still unclear

Flowers have been placed on the pavement in Basel's St. Galler-Ring area where a seven-year-old boy was stabbed on Thursday Keystone / Georgios Kefalas

Police are still trying to establish why an elderly woman stabbed a seven-year-old boy in Basel on Thursday. The 75-year-old did not know the boy or his family.

 “The motive for the deed has not yet been clarified. Based on our preliminary conclusions, there is reason for doubts over the criminal responsibility of the accused,” the canton Basel city public prosecutor’s office said on Friday.External link

“She is therefore undergoing a psychiatric assessment.”

Forensic tests have shown that the boy died from a stab wound to the neck, a statement said. No connection to the boy or his family, who originally came from Kosovo, has been found, it added.

The family itself has expressed shock over the attack, the Associated Press said, quoting an uncle.

“We couldn’t find any answer of what really happen, how it happened,” Syle Mahmuti, told AP on Friday.

Walking home from school

The incident happened around 12.45 pm on Thursday afternoon, when the boy was walking home alone from his primary school. He was found by a passerby and helped by the boy’s teacher who was cycling past. Emergency services were called to the scene, but the boy died from his injuries shortly after undergoing emergency surgery at the University Children’s Hospital Basel.

The Swiss suspect, who lives in Basel, left the scene and told several people by text message about what she had done, before turning herself in to the police. A police search had been underway.