Several children around the age of three have been stabbed to death with three young victims fighting for their lives after a knife-wielding man went on an ‘abhorrent’ rampage in a French park today.
Dramatic video shows the attacker, believed to be a Syrian asylum seeker, being pinned to the ground by armed police in a lakeside park in Annecy, an Alpine town in southeastern France, at around 9:45 a.m. A.M
Horrified witnesses say the mothers ran past them shouting “run, run” after the frenzied attack, which President Emmanuel Macron has condemned as “absolute cowardice”.
Witnesses said the knife-wielding man had begun attacking preschool children as they played on a small playground in a scene of all-out “carnage”. They said that he had launched his attack on small children because they were “easy targets”.
Video taken minutes after the stabbing shows the stabber, a refugee identified as Abdalmash H, 32, being chased by locals as witnesses yell for help for the injured children.
Soon after, armed police arrived on the scene and were able to subdue the attacker before he was arrested.
Four children of around three years old and one adult were seriously injured in the attack. Two of the young victims and the adult are now in a life-threatening condition at a nearby hospital.
The video shows an armed policeman subduing the attacker and pinning him to the ground after the knife attack in Annecy on Thursday.
Six three-year-olds were stabbed to death by a knife-wielding man in a French park this morning before police subdued the attacker. In the picture: Armed police on the scene.
Paramedics attend to victims at the scene of the attack in Annecy on Thursday.
Three children are now in critical condition and fighting for their lives at a nearby hospital following the attack. In the picture: the scene
Witnesses said they heard the man scream before he began attacking young children on the playground.
A witness, who asked not to be named, said: “The man was yelling in English and it caused absolute panic as he started attacking the children.
He wanted to hurt as many people as he could. He caused a carnage. Small children were easy targets.
Former Liverpool footballer Anthony Le Tallec said he saw a group of people running towards him before a mother yelled at him: ‘Run, run, there is someone stabbing everyone across the lake.’ They are stabbing children, run, run!
He continued: ‘I was so shocked, I continued and then suddenly the guy appeared in front of me, then I saw the police who were ten meters behind him, but they hadn’t managed to catch him yet. He was so close to me that I moved out of the way.
Another witness told Le Dauphine: ‘We saw a person attacking children playing, little ones, obviously that was his goal. After people tried to scare him, he walked away and the police intervened.
He spoke English. At first we all thought it was staged, but with the shouts of the people we realized that it was reality.’
One man told broadcaster BFMTV that he saw first responders working on “little bodies, three or four years old, maybe.”
The Interior Ministry said Abdalmash H is a Syrian citizen with legal refugee status in France after arriving in the country last year.
Security agencies did not know him and his motives were unclear, an investigative source said.
An investigative source said: “The attacker was a Syrian asylum seeker who spent a long time in Annecy.
“I was in a square in the park when the attack started around 9:45 in the morning. He targeted children indiscriminately and also injured an adult.
Verified footage posted on social media showed Abdalmasih H. approaching the children wearing shorts, sunglasses and a headscarf before launching his attack.
The stabber was arrested shortly thereafter after a brief struggle. The video shows three two armed police officers and a man immobilizing the attacker on the grass before he was led away.
Abdalmasih H. himself was seriously injured by the police and rushed to hospital, along with his five victims.
Armed police arrived on the scene and quickly subdued the knife-wielding man (pictured), believed to be a Syrian asylum seeker, before he was arrested and taken to hospital for his injuries, the French newspaper reported.
Paramedics rush today to attend to the victims of the savage attack in the city of Annecy, France.
Witnesses told Le Dauphine that a man began attacking the group of young children as they played in a small playground in Annecy, an alpine town in southeastern France, around 9:45 a.m.
A paramedic runs today to treat the victims of the Annecy attack in an attack that has left several children injured
Paramedics and police are seen at the scene of the frenzied knife attack in Annecy.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin tweeted: “Several people, including children, were injured by an individual armed with a knife in a square in Annecy.
“The individual was arrested thanks to the very rapid intervention of the police.”
Darmanin confirmed that five people were injured, including four young children, two of whom are in intensive care.
French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted: “Absolute cowardice attack this morning in an Annecy park. Children and an adult are between life and death.
‘The Nation is in a state of shock. Our thoughts are with them, their families and the emergency services that were mobilized.”
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne is now traveling to the scene of the attack, according to her aide.
Local politician Antoine Armand said in a tweet that the children were attacked at a children’s playground in an “abominable” attack.
He wrote: “We still know very little, but all my support to the victims, family members, law enforcement and rescue.”
And François Astorg, the mayor of Annecy, said: ‘Heinous attack this morning in the Paquier park in Annecy. All my thoughts to the victims and families.
Politicians inside the National Assembly in Paris interrupted a debate to observe a minute’s silence for the victims of the knife attack this morning.
The president of the assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, said: ‘There are some very young children who are in critical condition and I invite you to respect a minute of silence for them, for their families, and so that, we hope, the consequences of this serious attack does not provoke the mourning of the nation.’
Politicians inside the National Assembly in Paris observed a minute’s silence for the victims of the knife attack this morning.
I am Rakesh Sharma, I associated with Elite News as an Editor, since 2021. I take care of all the news operations like content, budget, hiring and policy making.