A woman was stabbed 11 times by her ex-boyfriend while filing a domestic violence complaint against him in Villahermosa, Tabasco, on Thursday.

The attack on Ana María N. was allegedly carried out by José Roberto N., who had concealed a knife inside a folder to carry it into the courtroom.

“The event occurred around 10:10am when José Roberto N., 30, went around the police railing, approached the victim and began a brief dialogue,” said the court in an official statement.

“Immediately thereafter, the man unexpectedly took a knife from a folder and injured Ana María N.”

The woman was treated by Red Cross paramedics in the courtroom and was later taken to hospital.

“Her intestine is damaged, but her overall condition is stable,” a hospital spokesman said. “The fact that she shows no signs of shock indicates that the stab wounds affected the skin and muscles, but apparently did not reach any vital organs.”

“Once we have run the lab tests, we will be able to determine the level of damage to the intestines.”

Contrary to this statement, local legislator Dolores Gutiérrez claimed that hospital staff told her the attack damaged the victim’s vital arteries.

“I was contacted by hospital director Dr. Juan Antonio Torres Trejo, who informed me that the victim’s current condition is unstable. Vital arteries are damaged. A group of multidisciplinary specialists are trying to save her.”

The Tabasco state attorney general opened a femicide investigation into the matter and issued an alert on local media to keep the victim’s family informed of the case.

The attacker was taken by state police to a cell in the courtroom.

Justice officials lamented the case, describing it as an indication of social decay and a call to work for “the construction of a peaceful society that Mexico needs so much.”

Source: Reforma (sp)