French police nab homeless slaying suspect on train; Possible tie to Rotterdam attack
The French police arrested a man in Toulon on Tuesday for allegedly killing a homeless man in Lyon by severely beating him with a stone. The Dutch police are investigating whether this man was also involved in a very similar attack in Rotterdam, in which a man threw a heavy paving stone on the head of a sleeping homeless man, leaving him critically injured. The Dutch police have not yet removed the suspect’s photo from their site as they standardly do after an arrest to protect the suspect’s identity.
The Dutch police already reported on Tuesday that they were investigating a link between the attacks in Lyon and Rotterdam. The Rotterdam victim was sleeping on the street near the Maritime Museum when the man smashed the heavy stone into his head. The body of the victim in France was found on Monday near Lyon Perache station.
French media identified the suspect as 30-year-old Levis E. from Cameroon. He was arrested on Tuesday night after allegedly attacking a woman on a train, but he did not resist arrest.
The French authorities have outstanding warrants against E. for murder and attempted murder, as well as an order to leave all French territory. E. is now also accused of assaulting a 26-year-old woman on a train after it departed from the Marseille Saint-Charles station in southern France.
She told the train crew that the man subjected her to an unprovoked attack when he punched her in the shoulder and side and kicked her in the shin and calf. His description matched that of the man wanted for the Lyon attack, and the ticket taker then quickly called the police. He was unable to produce a ticket or identification on the train, and the engineer stopped at the Toulon station to allow police to arrest the man at 8 p.m.
The Dutch police released new footage of the man wanted in the Rotterdam attack on Opsporing Verzocht on Tuesday. The police believe the suspect travels by train, investigators said in the broadcast. They also drew attention to his striking shoes - black sneakers with bright orange laces - and the two large shopping bags - eco-bags from Luxembourg - he carried with him.
Police have received over 50 tips after the case was first featured on Opsporing Verzocht last week. Around 50,000 euros has been raised for the victim who is currently in a coma.
