kismetchimera

ITALIAN NEWSMAN 'CLINICALLY DEAD' AFTER PARIS METRO ASSAULT

An Italian television journalist holidaying in Paris has been declared clinically dead after being assaulted by thieves in the underground.


http://www.ttc.org/200708141841.l7eifs907275.htmd network.

nukesafe

Link does not work.

Zerlina

Maybe this one will...

http://www.ttc.org/200708151107.l7fb7nx11515.htm

In the meantime, he has died, life support having been removed.

nukesafe

Well, that link opened.

I rather wish it had not ---

kismetchimera

I read this story last night in the Repbblica.it, is an Italian paper.
Poor guy, that was a terrible way to end a vacation in a foreign country.

JeanneB

Isn't Bir-Hakeim station above ground? Maybe I have it confused with another, but I thought we <i>descended</i> from the train there.

What a horrible story. I hope they catch them.

lmlweb

Bir-Hakiem is indeed above-ground. From what I understand from a French news source, theives took his bag, and he gave chase, and stumbled and fell on the stairs. But my French is sketchy, so I may be missing out something.

So please readers - if someone snatches your bag - let it go. Your life is much more valuable than what's in the rucksack.

StCirq

Yes, Bir-Hakeim is above ground, so it doesn't have &quot;corridors&quot; per se. And it's hardly &quot;at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.&quot; Weirdly inaccurate, but I did read the story in La Repubblica and elsewhere, so it's true.

I've used the Bir-Hakeim m&eacute;tro stop many times and sometimes had a creepy feeling about it...not sure why because it's so out in the open you figure not much can happen. Bummer.

lmlweb

St-Cirq, there's been a couple of times I've had to go to Bir-Hakeim. Let's just say that it was one of the areas where I felt that I had to be more aware of my surroundings than anywhere else.

JeanneB

I never knew that. We've breezed through there many times---just for the beautiful view of the ET after leaving Passy, especially at night. Yikes!

Toupary

While Bir-Hakeim is not &quot;at the foot of the Eiffel Tower,&quot; it is the closest M&eacute;tro stop.

This is horrifying.

kerouac

There is little hope to elucidate the case, because Bir-Hakeim is one of the very last stations of the Paris metro not to have video surveillance cameras, probably because it is considered to be one of the safest.

I have always warned people about crime in the richest neighborhoods of the city, but most people seem to think it happens at Barb&egrave;s.

Sarvowinner

It is above ground. My memories were that in the winter it was cold and windy with little protection from the elements.

PalenQ

I feel terrible about it.

But isn't this a rare occurence - murder in the metro?

several years ago i know clochards were pushing some folk down into the front of oncoming metro trains after being refused their baksheesh (at least i read that) but has there ever been such a murder

i'd hope it's an isolated case as i've always felt totally safe in the metro, below or above ground.

But maybe i'm naive?

kismetchimera

I feel so sorry for his little boy,luckily he didn't see his father being beaten up by these hoodlums !!!!

Michael

Why do people assume that he was assaulted in the staircase? The reports do not indicate this.

kerouac

People in Paris are six times safer in the metro than on the city streets, according to statistics.

Regarding the stations underground, a certain number of people feel insecure there, trapped, confined, etc. But you must also remember that the possible aggressors also feel confined in such places and do not feel at all secure for an escape route, unlike the city streets. Also, 90% of the time, they are on video. Bir-Hakeim was a terrible exception -- not on video and above ground.

Toupary

I might add that, whether in the M&eacute;tro or in the streets, they are probably safer than in a US city of comparable size.

PalenQ

or in Glasgow, Europe and one of the world's highest murder rates and armed attacks.

NeoPatrick

&quot;But you must also remember that the possible aggressors also feel confined in such places and do not feel at all secure for an escape route, unlike the city streets. Also, 90% of the time, they are on video. Bir-Hakeim was a terrible exception -- not on video and above ground.&quot;

Very good point, and obviously one that these criminals were well aware of.

Wanna take bets how soon that station will have video protection?