Man stabs ex-partner and her boyfriend outside Mafra daycare, flees with daughter

The attack outside the daycare

On the morning of 12 November 2026, around 08:00, a 34-year-old man attacked his 28-year-old former partner and her 35-year-old boyfriend at the door of a daycare in Mafra, Portugal. Media reports citing CNN Portugal say he used a bladed weapon and wounded both victims in the head and neck. The attack happened while children were already inside the building. After the stabbings, the suspect took the couple's daughter from the car of the woman's current partner. Authorities describe the case as one of domestic violence, a description the daycare also used.

The escape and arrest

The girl, who is one year and ten months old, was inside the car when the suspect drove away, and reports say he struck a vehicle while she was in his car. He then left her with a friend. When the GNR contacted him, he told officers where the child was, and a person later handed her in at a GNR post, where she remains safe. The GNR located and intercepted the suspect in Vila Franca do Rosário, in the municipality of Mafra, and he offered no resistance to his detention. SIC Notícias reported that when authorities reached him, he said the baby was with that friend.

Victims and the girl's care

Both victims were taken to Hospital de Santa Maria in Lisbon for medical care. Reports describe their injuries as light, and neither victim is at risk of death. SIC Notícias says the ex-partner is hospitalised. The Núcleo de Apoio à Vítima is supporting the girl, and authorities admit she may stay temporarily with a close relative until her mother is discharged from hospital. The GNR's technical support unit went to the scene to collect traces, including blood, that may help the investigation.

Daycare and public reaction

The Casa do Povo do Gradil daycare responded on its Facebook page, saying the children who were on the premises are well, that they were inside the building and saw nothing, and that it is cooperating with the competent authorities. Several users posted messages of support under the institution's post. In its statement, the daycare said:

“Today we had a difficult situation of aggression in the context of a domestic violence case, outside our daycare, and we are cooperating with the competent authorities.”

Notícias ao Minuto reported that the GNR confirmed the incident to it and said further details would be released in a statement to newsrooms.

What remains open

The circumstances that led to the attack have not been made public, and authorities are still working to establish them. The suspect is in custody, and the girl is in the care of the Núcleo de Apoio à Vítima while the family situation is arranged. The GNR has said it will issue a further communiqué with more details.