Attack on medical student investigated as attempted femicide amid reports of 'obsessive' behavior

Police are investigating the stabbing of a 19-year-old medical student in Montevideo as a possible attempted femicide, after witnesses reportedly described the suspected attacker’s behavior toward her as persistent and obsessive.

Richard Gutiérrez, the Montevideo police department’s director of domestic and gender-based violence, said both the young woman and the man involved are 19 and study medicine. He said investigators had found no previous complaints or criminal records and were proceeding cautiously because the case was “very delicate.” Some details remain confidential as part of the investigation.

“According to witnesses, they would have seen quite persecutory behavior from this young man,” Gutiérrez told reporters. Some witnesses characterized the behavior as obsessive, he said, involving an effort to establish another kind of relationship with the young woman, who had consistently rejected him.

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According to witnesses, they would have seen quite persecutory behavior from this young man.

The victim suffered two stab wounds, one to the abdomen and another to the face. Emergency responders took her to a health center, where she was reported stable and out of danger. The suspect was with her when he was arrested. No other people were injured, and police scientific personnel went to the scene to establish what happened.

Gutiérrez said the case involved two students who shared the same course of study and urged the public to treat gender-based violence as a serious and sensitive issue that affects all ages and social groups. He said there may have been earlier warning signs and that society should reflect on how to identify and address them. The Faculty of Medicine suspended activities at the Alpargatas and Central buildings, with classes scheduled to resume on September 2.

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Gender-based violence is serious and delicate.