ANNECY: Four toddlers and two pensioners were stabbed in a knife attack in the tranquil French mountain town of Annecy on Thursday and the government said the suspected assailant was a Syrian refugee. Avideo of the attack, taken by a bystander and verified by Reuters, showed the assailant jump alow wall into a children’s playground and repeatedly lunge at a child in a stroller, pushing aside a woman who tries to fend him off. Two of the wounded children and one adult were in hospital in a life-threatening condition, while the other victims were less seriously hurt.
PM Elisabeth Borne said the suspected attacker, who was in police custody, was a 31-year old Syrian national who was granted asylum in Sweden 10 years ago. He had entered France legally, she said, and was carrying Swedish identity documents and a Swedish driving licence. The local prosecutor leading the investigation said there wasno indication that terrorism was the assailant’s motivation. He was under investigation for attempted murder.
The four children were just toddlers, aged between 22 months and three years, Annecy prosecutor Line BonnetMathis told reporters. One of them was a British national, another was Dutch, BonnetMathis said. As the assailant, who wore a blue-chequeredheadscarf and sunglasses, slashed at his victims, one bystander tried to stop him by throwing his backpack at him, the video showed. Police have not publicly released the suspect’s name.
Awoman identified as his ex-wife told BFM TV that her former partner was a Christian. “He does not call me for four months. (Our relationship) stopped because we lived inSweden and he did not want to live in Sweden anymore,” she told BFM TV, adding that he had not previously shown a violent streak. French news agency AFP reported the assailant was carrying a prayer book on his person when he launched his attack. The incident took place at around 0745 GMT in Le Paquier park in Annecy, a town in the French Alps. “He clearly targeted the babies,” a witness told BFM TV. President Emmanuel Macron said his country was in shock, calling the attack “an act of absolute cowardice”.
Swedish court documents showed the suspect was fined for fraud in Sweden in 2022 for claiming unemployment and student benefits at the same time. The ruling said that he had struggled financially and at one point had had to sell his wife’s jewellery to make ends meet. The attack ended when police shot at the suspect and then overpowered him, an eyewitness videoshowed. He was not hurt, the prosecutor said.
PM Elisabeth Borne said the suspected attacker, who was in police custody, was a 31-year old Syrian national who was granted asylum in Sweden 10 years ago. He had entered France legally, she said, and was carrying Swedish identity documents and a Swedish driving licence. The local prosecutor leading the investigation said there wasno indication that terrorism was the assailant’s motivation. He was under investigation for attempted murder.
The four children were just toddlers, aged between 22 months and three years, Annecy prosecutor Line BonnetMathis told reporters. One of them was a British national, another was Dutch, BonnetMathis said. As the assailant, who wore a blue-chequeredheadscarf and sunglasses, slashed at his victims, one bystander tried to stop him by throwing his backpack at him, the video showed. Police have not publicly released the suspect’s name.
Awoman identified as his ex-wife told BFM TV that her former partner was a Christian. “He does not call me for four months. (Our relationship) stopped because we lived inSweden and he did not want to live in Sweden anymore,” she told BFM TV, adding that he had not previously shown a violent streak. French news agency AFP reported the assailant was carrying a prayer book on his person when he launched his attack. The incident took place at around 0745 GMT in Le Paquier park in Annecy, a town in the French Alps. “He clearly targeted the babies,” a witness told BFM TV. President Emmanuel Macron said his country was in shock, calling the attack “an act of absolute cowardice”.
Swedish court documents showed the suspect was fined for fraud in Sweden in 2022 for claiming unemployment and student benefits at the same time. The ruling said that he had struggled financially and at one point had had to sell his wife’s jewellery to make ends meet. The attack ended when police shot at the suspect and then overpowered him, an eyewitness videoshowed. He was not hurt, the prosecutor said.