According to officials, the four small children who were stabbed in a park in Annecy, in the southeast of France, are reportedly in a stable condition.
The one to three year old kids are receiving medical care in a hospital.
After the attacker entered a playground for kids to carry out the attack, police overcame him and took him into custody.
Among the injured are two children, one Dutch and one a three-year-old British toddler. Additionally harmed were two adults, one of whom is in critical condition.
The suspect, a 31-year-old Syrian who was granted refugee status in Sweden, has been identified by the police.
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Antoine Armand, a regional deputy, called the attack “abominable” and stated that while there was an investigation underway, “very little” was known.
Too gruesome for broadcast, video footage of the incident shows a little playground and everyday life going on there. There are parents and other adults watching the children as they run around.
Then a man enters brandishing a knife, and cries rapidly break out. He strikes a child in a pushchair despite being plainly on the lookout for kids to attack.
The attack site was visited by Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin and French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne.
At a press conference, Ms. Borne stated that the assailant “has no criminal or psychiatric record.”
The child victims, whose ages ranged from 22 months to three years, were described by Annecy prosecutor Line Bonnet-Mathis to media.
She claimed that there “doesn’t seem to be any kind of terrorist motivation.”
According to the police, the suspect, who recently arrived in France and has refugee status in Sweden, left behind a wife and a three-year-old daughter. He claimed to be a Syrian Christian in an unsuccessful asylum application last year seeking refugee status in France.
The attacker used the name of Jesus Christ during the encounter.
His previous wife revealed that her ex-partner was a Christian to BFM TV.
“I don’t hear from him for four months. We were in Sweden, and he decided he didn’t want to live there anymore, she added, adding that he hadn’t before displayed a violent streak.
Knife assaults have been commonplace in France in recent years, frequently committed by lone young men with tiny criminal histories and possible ties to the Islamic State. This attack obviously has a different nature.
The majority of lawmakers are being cautious thus far to avoid drawing conclusions, but it is clear that the incident will contribute to the immigration discussion.
White rose tributes spread out on the playground wall in Annecy tonight are cast in shadow by the ominous sky. A heart-covered child’s painting flutters in the breeze. The words “horror passes; love remains” are written on a message that is addressed to the four kids who were stabbed here.
The kids started coming back this afternoon as the flowers started to bloom. By early evening, they had returned to the playground, excitedly ignoring the rows of television cameras set up nearby.
However, individuals who saw the attack here and the heroic response of the emergency services reported that they were still shocked and moved to tears.
This toddler attack in a well-known tourist area has shocked France; the horror felt well beyond this town, and the reason behind it is yet unknown.
The homages and inquiries increase, just as they did here in Annecy.
The youngsters, some of whom were in pushchairs, were allegedly attacked at the park by the suspect before he fled the scene and stabbed an elderly man nearby.
The offender was shot in the legs by police after they intervened.
The National Assembly of France has held a moment of silence, and the area around the attack’s scene is closed to traffic.
In a tweet, President Emmanuel Macron stated that the “act of cowardice” had left the country “shocked.”
“All our thoughts are with those affected by this unfathomable attack, including a British child – and with their families,” UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is visiting the US, said. “I’ve been in touch with President Macron, and we stand ready to offer any assistance that we can.”
Eleanor Vincent, a witness, told the BBC that she “knew something horrible had happened” as she approached the lake.
“It’s absolutely shocking that people were going about their daily lives or vacations, as I was. There isn’t any other way to put it.
