France knife attack – latest: Screaming mother watched on as children injured in ‘savage’ Annecy stabbing
A British child is among the victims injured following a knife attack at a lakeside park in the French Alps, foreign secretary James Cleverly has said.
He told an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) press conference: “Our thoughts are with the victims and the families and we stand ready to support the French authorities in whichever way we can.
Annecy prosecutor Line Bonnet-Mathis confirmed that four children, aged between 22 months and three years, and two adults were injured.
A criminal investigation has been launched and the suspected attacker was arrested and is being held in the Annecy police station, she added.
Meanwhile, a woman who witnessed it said that the attacker had jumped over a park fence and stabbed a small girl and a baby in a pram.
“When I heard the mother’s scream, I started to run”, the woman told France Bleu radio.
The suspected attacker - a 31-year-old man who had refugee status in Sweden - is said to be a Syrian national, police sources told local media. It is believed he was not known to security agencies.
Key Points
France knife attack: British child among victims injured in playground stabbings
French National Assembly holds minute's silence for stabbing victims
31-year-old suspect had ‘no apparent terrorist motive’, says Annecy prosecutor
France stabbings: Ex-Liverpool footballer witnessed attack, says he saw ‘injured children on the ground’
Psychological support in place for witnesses, says deputy mayor
Schools put on ‘lockdown’ after attack, deputy mayor confirms
British child among six stabbed in knife attack
06:51 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
A three-year-old British girl on holiday with her family was among four toddlers and two adults stabbed in an “odious and unspeakable” attack in an open-air playground in France on Thursday.
Witnesses described scenes of panic as screaming mothers sought to protect children from the assailant, who rampaged around a lakeside park in Annecy, in the French Alps.
At least one child was stabbed in a pram despite desperate efforts by a woman to push him aside.
Video showed the attack slashing at his victims and shouting “in the name of Jesus Christ.”Police have arrested a suspect, who they identified as a 31-year-old Syrian man who came to Europe a decade ago as a refugee.
British toddler among six stabbed in French playground horror
First firefighters arrived at scene four minutes after alert was raised, says fire chief
10:21 , Andy Gregory
A total of 69 firefighters were mobilised in response to Thursday’s attack, with the first fire engine arriving four minutes after the alert was triggered, local fire chief Martial Saddier told BFM TV.
He told the broadcaster that he was driving in his car to Annecy on Thursday morning when he received an emergency message: “Code red, mass killing.”
France hails 24-year-old ‘backpack hero'
09:42 , Andy Gregory
The young man who attempted to stop the knifeman in Thursday’s attack is being hailed in France as “the backpack hero”, and reportedly is set to meet president Emmanuel Macron.
Henri, a 24-year old management and philosophy student, is reported to be a Catholic pilgrim on a walking tour of cathedrals who came face to face with the man who stabbed several children in a park in Annecy.
Footage shows him trying to block the assailant with one of his two backpacks, pursuing the man into the playground and throwing one of his bags at the attacker, after spotting the knifeman attacking children in a stroller as their mother desperately tried to shield them.
He is then seen pursuing the assailant across the wide expanse of the Le Paquier grasslands, dropping one of his backpacks to run faster, as police also start giving chase.
So far, most of France only knows him by the first and only name given on his social media, on which his only public comment so far is the message: “Pray for the children, I am ok.”
French media have called him “héros au sac à dos”, translating to the backpack hero, and his Facebook and Instagram accounts have been flooded with messages giving thanks for his actions.
“May God bless you ... you did what you could at that moment, you did not give up, you did not run. You are an angel,” Instagram user Mag Capone wrote on his site.
Psychiatrists evaluating suspect
09:14 , Andy Gregory
Psychiatrists are evaluating the 31-year-old Syrian refugee suspected of carrying out Thursday’s attackgovernment spokesman Olivier Veran has told reporters.
The attacker's motives were unknown but did not appear to be terrorism-related, according to lead prosecutor Line Bonnet-Mathis.
He was armed with a folding knife, Ms Bonnet-Mathis said.
Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron to visit Annecy today
09:10 , Andy Gregory
French president Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte will visit Annecy today.
The couple are traveling together to comfort victims wounded in Thursday’s attack, meet their families and those who came to their aid, the president’s office said.
Two children still in critical condition, authorities say
09:05 , Andy Gregory
Two of the four very young children badly injured in Thursday’s attack remain in a critical condition this morning, a French government spokesperson has said.
The four are aged between 22 months and 3 years old. Two are French, one is British and the other Dutch.
Suspect’s ‘ex-wife’ says she has not spoken to him for four months
08:49 , Andy Gregory
A woman identified as the suspect’s ex-wife said she had not spoken to him for four months.
Speaking to BFM TV, the woman said her ex-husband was a Christian and had not previously shown a violent streak.
“[Our relationship] stopped because we lived in Sweden and he did not want to live in Sweden anymore,” she told the broadcaster.
Swedish authorities say the suspect was granted asylum 10 years ago, but had twice been refused citizenship in 2017 and 2018, and had reapplied last August.
Live: People lay flowers after knife attack in Annecy
08:34 , Andy Gregory
Our video team has this live feed showing the scene of the attack, where some people are laying flowers and other items for the victims.
Dozens of tributes including flowers, teddy bears, candles and written messages were left at the park on Thursday night, with messages including “Love Annecy”, and “Children I don’t know you but in this hour you are fighting”.
Sweden confirms suspect was granted asylum there 10 years ago
08:20 , Andy Gregory
Authorities in Sweden have corroborated remarks by France’s interior minister that the suspect was denied asylum in France days before the attack because he was granted asylum in Sweden 10 years go.
The Swedish Migration Agency confirmed the suspect was granted permanent residency in 2013 and, without identifying him, said he subsequently sought Swedish citizenship in 2017 and 2018, both of which applications were denied, and applied again in August last year.
Mr Darmanin, France’s interior minister, said the suspect entered France legally.
He said: “For some reasons we don’t really understand, he applied for asylum in Switzerland, in Italy and in France, which he didn’t need to do as he already had asylum in Sweden for the past 10 years.”
France: Flowers and toys laid in tribute at Annecy park after children and adults stabbed
07:54 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Dozens of tributes including flowers, teddy bears, candles and written messages were left at a park in the French Alps following the stabbing attack that left four children - including a British girl - and two adults injured.
The area, which has a number of wooden structures for children to play on, was open to the public but empty at 12pm local time.
One of the messages left said: “Love Annecy.”
Police say they have arrested a suspect, a 31-year-old Syrian, following the attack.
Flowers and toys laid in tribute at Annecy park after horror knife attack
Suspect denied French asylum, says minister
07:22 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The suspect in the stabbings of a group of children in the French Alps was denied asylum in France just days before the attack, according to a minister.
Police have identified the suspect as a 31-year-old Syrian. He has been arrested on suspicion of attacking four children and two adults at a lakeside park in Annecy on Thursday.
French interior minister Gerald Darmanin said the suspect had tried to claim asylum in France, but it was refused on Sunday because he had previously been granted asylum in Sweden 10 years ago.
More here.
Suspect in playground attack denied French asylum, minister says
Attacked children now in stable condition
07:06 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The four young children stabbed in an open-air playground in France are now reportedly in stable condition.
The children, aged between 22 months and three, were transferred to hospitals in the French Alps and across the Swiss border in Geneva. One of the injured children is a three-year-old British national.
A 70-year-old man was also seriously injured – first by the knifeman and then by police fire during the attack – but is also in stable condition.
A second adult was treated for injuries not believed to be life-threatening.
Woman leaps in front of attacker to save child
06:45 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
A woman bravely leapt in front of a pushchair to protect a child during the knife attack at a lakeside park in the French Alps.
The woman got in the way of the killer as he lunged at the innocent child, according to videos and eye witness reports.
Other videos from Thursday’s carnage show a bystander using his backpack in a bid to fend off the attacker after chasing him from the playground.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz condemns ‘odious and despicable’ stabbing
Thursday 8 June 2023 23:00 , Sam Rkaina
German chancellor Olaf Scholz has condemned the attack that saw four children injured on Thursday morning.
Scholz also revealed that the attack in the French Alps town of Annecy had involved a German child.
“Germany is shocked by this odious and despicable attack,” he said.
Stabbing suspect not high on ‘drugs or alcohol’ during attack - French prosecutors
Thursday 8 June 2023 22:30 , Sam Rkaina
The suspected attacker was “neither under the influence of drugs nor alcohol” at the time, French prosecutors have said.
The Telegraph reported that the 31-year-old Syrian asylum-seeker was sober when he allegedly stabbed six people in a park in the quiet town of Annecy on Thursday morning.
All of the children - whose ages ranged from 22 months to three years - were rushed to hospital in a critical condition. Local officials have since told the BBC that they are in a stable condition.
British girl injured in Annecy attack stable in hospital, according to reports
Thursday 8 June 2023 21:10 , Eleanor Noyce
A British girl injured in a knife attack at a lakeside park in the French Alps is in stable condition in hospital, according to reports.
The girl, said to be aged three, was one of four children and two adults wounded when the suspect - identified by police as a 31-year-old Syrian - attacked people with a knife in the town of Annecy on Thursday.
Authorities said the children were taken to hospital in critical condition, but Annecy mayor Francois Astorg told French media on Thursday evening they were “stable” and “out of the operating room” - with the Telegraph reporting the girl is now in hospital in Grenoble, a city around an hour-and-a-half away by car.
One of the adults involved suffered serious injuries as a result of both a knife wound from the attacker and a bullet wound from police as they shot at the knifeman while trying to detain him, according to local prosecutor Line Bonnet-Mathis.
Witnesses said the knifeman shouted “in the name of Jesus Christ” as he launched the attack, including stabbing a child in a pushchair repeatedly as bystanders screamed for help.
Ms Bonnet-Mathis told a press conference on Thursday afternoon the attacker’s motives remain unclear, but do not appear to be related to terrorism.
Everything we know about suspected France playground attacker after toddlers stabbed
Thursday 8 June 2023 21:03 , Eleanor Noyce
A picturesque French town has been left reeling after four children were stabbed in a playground horror attack.
Two adults were also injured in the attack in Annecy in the French Alps on Thursday morning. All of the youngsters - who were aged between 22 months and three - were transferred to hospitals in the French Alps and across the Swiss border in Geneva.
One of the injured children is British, the UK foreign secretary James Cleverly confirmed and is believed to have been on holiday at the time.
Oliver Pritchard-Jones reports:
Everything we know about suspected France playground attacker after toddlers stabbed
France had rejected asylum demand made by Annecy knife attacker - minister
Thursday 8 June 2023 20:03 , Eleanor Noyce
France had rejected earlier this month an asylum demand made by the man behind the knife attack earlier on Thursday in the French town of Annecy, said French interior minister Gerald Darmanin.
Darmanin also told TF1 news that the Syrian refugee arrested over the attack had “certain Christian religious insignia” upon him. He had obtained asylum in Sweden 10 years ago, and made asylum requests in Switzerland and Italy as well, added Darmanin.
Flowers left for the victims at site of Annecy knife attack
Thursday 8 June 2023 20:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Flowers have been placed at a playground in the ‘Jardins de l’Europe’ in Annecy where a knife attack took place on Thursday morning.
A Syrian refugee suspected of stabbing six people in the French Alpine town did not appear to have a "terrorist motive", the local prosecutor told reporters.
Prosecutor Line Bonnet-Mathis said that of the four children injured in the assault, one was aged just 22 months, two were two-year-olds, and the eldest was three.
Mapped: Scene of ‘savage’ stabbing in the oft-nicknamed ‘Pearl of the French Alps'
Thursday 8 June 2023 18:46 , Eleanor Noyce
An alpine town in southeastern France, Annecy is nicknamed the “Pearl of the French Alps.”
It is 93 miles east of Lyon, the third-largest city in France, and has a population of approximately 50,000.
Here, we map out the town’s location in France and zoom in on where the scene took place:
‘The police were there very quickly’, witness tells Sky News
Thursday 8 June 2023 18:35 , Eleanor Noyce
One woman, Eleanor Vincent, who has been in Annecy for the last five days on holiday, was at the scene as police began to cordon off the park.
She told Sky News: “The police were there very quickly, the area was cordoned off.
“I did not see the crime scene thank heavens, but I did see the aftermath because I stayed in the area for about 45 minutes just trying to take in what had happened and to take some photos to be able to document what was going on.”
Psychological support in place for witnesses, says deputy mayor
Thursday 8 June 2023 18:25 , Eleanor Noyce
Chantale Farmer, deputy mayor of Annecy, told BBC News that support has been put in place for witnesses and a class of schoolchildren who were in the park at the time of the attack.
She said: “We’ve put in place psychological help, a free phone number that people can phone.
“We also took into account the witnesses and the victims with the hospitals (and) with some doctors so they could speak out.
“We’ve done it also in a school because there was a class that was doing sport on the field during the attack and so we’ve put the psychological help also in that school to help people to express and to try to find a way to help them, as we can.
“The phone number is on our website for people.”
Schools put on ‘lockdown’ after attack, deputy mayor confirms
Thursday 8 June 2023 18:23 , Eleanor Noyce
Speaking to BBC News, deputy mayor of Annecy, Chantale Farmer, said schools were put on “lockdown” shortly after the attack in a nearby playground.
When asked how people living in the town are, she said: “They are shocked and devastated.
“They’re really sad and they feel also some anger so we share this with them.
“We try to answer some questions that we can.
“We try to protect the children because we had schools around so we locked them down for a while and so we (could) also give information to the parents and also to the people working in those schools.
“All the people in Annecy are very shocked right now.”
Children ‘out of the operating room’, Annecy Mayor tells French broadcaster
Thursday 8 June 2023 17:35 , Eleanor Noyce
Annecy mayor François Astorg has confirmed that injured children are “out of the operating room” after this morning’s attack.
“For the moment, their condition seems stable”, he told French broadcaster BFM TV.
One adult remained in surgery, Mr Astorg said.
Local residents return to playground following attack
Thursday 8 June 2023 17:27 , Eleanor Noyce
Local residents and children have returned to the playground in the ‘Jardins de l’Europe’ in Annecy following a knife attack.
Prosecutor Line Bonnet-Mathis said that of the four children injured in the assault, one was aged just 22 months, two were two-year-olds, and the eldest was three.
White roses pictured at children’s playground following attack
Thursday 8 June 2023 17:10 , Eleanor Noyce
White roses have been pictured at the children's playground after several children and adults were injured in a knife attack at the Le Paquier park near the lake in Annecy.
The victims are four children aged between 22 months and 3 years and two pensioners aged 70 and 78.
Two of the toddlers and one adult are in a life-threatening condition in hospital, police said.
Annecy stabbing: Who is the suspect?
Thursday 8 June 2023 16:50 , Eleanor Noyce
The suspected attacker is a Syrian national who was carrying Syrian and Swedish identity papers, including a Swedish drivers’ license, according to French authorities.
French prime minister Elisabeth Borne said the 31-year-old was granted refugee status in Sweden 10 years ago and was in France legally. A subsequent asylum request in France had been refused on the grounds Sweden had already approved one, she said.
An eyewitness video, verified by Reuters, shows a bearded man with sunglasses and a blue checkered headscarf running through the park, clutching a knife.
Another shows him jumping a wall into a playground and lunging at a child in a pushchair as a woman tries to block his path.
The suspect was shot at by police and overpowered by officers. He is under investigation for attempted murder, the local prosecutor said.
France stabbing: what we know so far about the Annecy attack
Thursday 8 June 2023 16:35 , Eleanor Noyce
Here is what we know so far about a knife attack against toddlers in the southeastern French town of Annecy on Thursday, in which some of them were seriously wounded.
Where did the attack happen?
In a park in Annecy, a tranquil town at the foot of the French Alps that is popular for winter sports as well as for summer pursuits like hiking and parasailing. Annecy is known as the Pearl of the French Alps.
The lakeside Le Paquier park, whose name comes from the word for “pasture” in a local dialect, lies between the town centre and the northwestern corner of Lake Annecy.
Who are the victims?
The victims are four children aged between 22 months and 3 years and two pensioners aged 70 and 78.
Two of the toddlers and one adult are in a life-threatening condition in hospital, police said.
Britain’s foreign minister said one of the children wounded in the attack was British, and the lead prosecutor in the case said another was Dutch.
‘Mothers were crying, everybody was running’: Witnesses react to Annecy knife attack
Thursday 8 June 2023 16:20 , Eleanor Noyce
Several witnesses described Le Paquier park as an usually tranquil place popular with tourists for its stunning views of Lake Annecy and the mountains.
“It’s a place where babysitters and parents take young children to play. I often see around 15 toddlers there in the morning, and the atmosphere is fantastic,” said Yohan, who works at an ice-cream parlour just opposite the park.
“He clearly targeted the babies,” a witness who gave his name as Ferdinand told BFM TV.
“Mothers were crying, everybody was running,” said George, owner of a nearby restaurant.
French National Assembly holds minute's silence for stabbing victims
Thursday 8 June 2023 16:10 , Eleanor Noyce
The French National Assembly has observed a minute of silence to mark the incident.
“Nothing more abominable than to attack children,” National Assembly speaker Yael Braun-Pivet said on Twitter.
“The nation is in shock,” President Emmanuel Macron added, calling the attack “an act of absolute cowardice”.
Suspect has one child same age as children attacked, PM Borne says
Thursday 8 June 2023 15:49 , Eleanor Noyce
France is “standing firm” after several very young children were stabbed in Annecy, French prime minister Elisabeth Borne said.
She told a press conference that the attacker was a Syrian national who has refugee status in Sweden.
He has no criminal or psychiatric record, she said.
“He has one child who is the same age as the children he attacked,” Ms Borne said.
“We are absolutely shaken by all this and we are standing firm by the people of Annecy.”
31-year-old suspect had ‘no apparent terrorist motive’, says Annecy prosecutor
Thursday 8 June 2023 15:30 , Eleanor Noyce
The 31-year-old suspect, a Syrian man who was granted refugee status in Sweden, did not appear to have a terrorist motive.
Annecy prosecutor Line Bonnet-Mathis told a press conference that he was “not known to any intelligence service” and had “no apparent terrorist motive.”
“The children are in a very severe state and are in intensive care,” Ms Bonnet-Mathis added.
A criminal investigation has been launched and the attacker was arrested and is being held in the Annecy police station, she said.
Moment knife-wielding man stalks playground before stabbing in French Alps
Thursday 8 June 2023 15:20 , Eleanor Noyce
Warning, this video contains scenes that some viewers may find upsetting.
Eyewitness footage has emerged of a man stalking a playground before allegedly attacking children in Annecy, southeastern France, on Thursday 8 June.
The video shows the suspect walking in the area as members of the public can be heard screaming.
French authorities confirmed four children - aged between 22 months and three years - suffered life-threatening wounds in the attack.
Police have said the suspected attacker has legal refugee status in France.
He was not previously known to authorities.
Moment knife-wielding man stalks playground before stabbing in French Alps
Suella Braverman ‘appalled’ by playground attack
Thursday 8 June 2023 15:09 , Eleanor Noyce
Suella Braverman said she is “appalled” by the playground attack in a lakeside park in the French Alps.
The Home Secretary tweeted: “I am appalled by the attack on young children in Annecy, France.
“My thoughts are with the children, their families and the local community who have been affected by this shocking act.
“I’m in touch with my friend, Minister GDarmanin (French interior minister Gerald Darmanin), to offer our full support.”
Sir Keir Starmer offers solidarity following Annecy knife attack
Thursday 8 June 2023 15:07 , Eleanor Noyce
Sir Keir Starmer offered his solidarity with France after several very young children were stabbed in the French Alps.
The Labour leader tweeted: “Horrific news from Annecy.
“My thoughts are with the victims of today’s shocking attack, their families and the wider community.
“The U.K. is united in offering our support to France.”
‘You’d never think this could be possible in such a peaceful environment’, says Annecy resident
Thursday 8 June 2023 15:04 , Eleanor Noyce
Annecy resident Dominique Griziaux said he was at the nearby “Pop Beach” when the wail of sirens filled the air. The attack had left him feeling sick inside.
“You put yourself in the place of parents and grandparents put through this drama,” said Griziaux, adding that an attack on such young children was “just unthinkable”.
“You’d never think this could be possible in such a peaceful, bucolic environment as Annecy.”
'It was horrible': Former Liverpool footballer describes Annecy knife attack
Thursday 8 June 2023 14:56 , Eleanor Noyce
Anthony Le Tallec was jogging around the pristine waters of Lake Annecy in the foothills of the Alps when a wave of panicked bystanders rushed past in the opposite direction.
One mother urged him to turn and run.
“There’s someone stabbing everyone along the lakeshore. He’s knifed children,” Le Tallec, a former professional football player with Liverpool FC, quoted her as telling him in a video account of what he saw that he posted on Instagram.
Confused, Le Tallec said he kept jogging through the park in the town of Annecy but soon saw a man heading his way with police officers in pursuit but struggling to catch up.
“I see that he’s heading straight for a group of elderly men and women. He attacks one grandpa, stabs him once, the cops can’t catch him, so I tell the cops, ‘shoot him’,” Le Tallec continued.
‘Our lives have been turned upside down’, says father of children who witnessed attack
Thursday 8 June 2023 14:47 , Eleanor Noyce
Speaking to reporters in France, the father of children who witnessed the knife attack in Annecy has said that his family lives have been “turned upside down.”
“We’re in a total panic. We spent two hours without any news. Now I know my children are safe”, he said.
“All of our lives have been turned upside down because for years we’ve been walking alongside the lake.
“We made it, but now we’re thinking back. Now there is a before and an after.
“We have fear in our stomachs. My children will not be living in a quiet state of mind anymore.”
‘When I heard the mother’s scream, I started to run’, says witness
Thursday 8 June 2023 14:46 , Eleanor Noyce
A woman who said she had witnessed the attack said that the attacker had jumped over a park fence and stabbed a small girl and a baby in a stroller.
“I really thought it was a joke, but not at all,” the woman, who was not identified, told France Bleu radio.
“When I heard the mother’s scream, I started to run.”
Alleged Annecy knife attacker was granted refugee status by Sweden, says PM Borne
Thursday 8 June 2023 14:35 , Eleanor Noyce
French prime minister Élisabeth Borne has confirmed that the alleged Annecy knife attacker, a 31-year-old man from Syria, was granted refugee status by Sweden.
The French prosecutor added that 4 children aged between 22 months and 3 years suffered life-threatening wounds.
The prosecutor added that the alleged attacker was slightly injured.
One injured child is a Dutch national, another British - Annecy prosecutor
Thursday 8 June 2023 14:30 , Eleanor Noyce
One of the children injured in a knife attack in a playground in France is a Dutch national, and another British, the Annecy prosecutor has confirmed.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak earlier tweeted: “My thoughts are with all of those affected by the shocking attack in Annecy this morning.
Calling it a “truly cowardly act”, he said: “The UK and France have always stood together against acts of violence, and we do so again today.”
In pictures: Annecy responds to ‘savage' knife attack
Thursday 8 June 2023 14:26 , Eleanor Noyce
France knife attack: British child among victims injured in playground stabbings
Thursday 8 June 2023 14:14 , Eleanor Noyce
One of the children injured in a knife attack in a playground in France is a British national.
Foreign secretary James Cleverly confirmed their nationality in a statement following multiple stabbings in the town of Annecy in the French alps.
President Emmanuel Macron called the attack an act of “absolute cowardice” and said the “nation is in shock”.
A man armed with a knife is believed to have entered a children’s playground in a park near the town’s renowned lake.
French interior minister Gerald Darmanin said that the suspected attacker had been arrested and a press conference with police is due to take place shortly.
More follows:
British child among victims injured in French playground stabbings
‘Our thoughts are with the victims and the families’, says Cleverly
Thursday 8 June 2023 14:12 , Eleanor Noyce
UK foreign secretary James Cleverly told an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) press conference: “Our thoughts are with the victims and the families and we stand ready to support the French authorities in whichever way we can.
“Also aware that one of the people, one of the children injured, was a British national. We have already deployed British consular officials who are travelling to the area to make themselves available to support the family.
“And of course we stand in strong solidarity with the people of France at this terrible time.”
One of injured children in French knife attack was a British national, Cleverly confirms
Thursday 8 June 2023 13:55 , Eleanor Noyce
UK foreign secretary James Cleverly has confirmed that one of the children injured in the knife attack in Annecy is a British national.
Cleverly was speaking at an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) news conference in Paris.
Archbishop of Annecy says tragedy ‘poses questions about violence'
Thursday 8 June 2023 13:23 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Yves Le Saux, the archbishop of Annecy, has said that a mass will be held on Friday in Annecy cathedral in tribute to the victims and their families.
He said: “This tragedy poses questions about violence that is running through our society and pushes us to work every harder, together, to fight it.”
Four children wounded in knife attack in French town, two in critical condition
Thursday 8 June 2023 13:07 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
A Syrian national wounded four young children and an adult in a knife attack in a park in the southeastern French town of Annecy on Thursday, police said, and some of the victims were in critical condition.
The attacker was a Syrian national with legal refugee status in France, a police official told Reuters. He was not known to security agencies and his motives were unclear, an investigative source said. French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Twitter that the attacker had been arrested. BFM TV showed footage of several policemen overpowering an individual in the park.
Two children and one adult were in life-threatening condition, while two children were slightly hurt, police said. The wounded children were aged between 22 months and 3 years, they said.
“Children and one adult are between life and death. The nation is in shock,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement on Twitter, calling the attack “an act of absolute cowardice”.
France stabbings: Ex-Liverpool footballer witnessed attack, says he saw ‘injured children on the ground’
Thursday 8 June 2023 13:03 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Former Liverpool footballer Anthony Le Tallec has said he witnessed the stabbing attack in a lakeside park in the town of Annecy on Thursday morning that left a number of children badly injured.
Four young children and an adult were injured in the incident, which began when a man armed with a knife entered their playground, according to police, with two of the children and the adult battling life-threatening injuries.
French interior minister Gerald Darmanin said that the suspected attacker had been arrested.
Mr Le Tallec, who retired in 2021 and now works as a coach at the Alpine town’s football club said: “I was running by the lake and I saw around ten people running in the opposite direction to me.”
Ex-Liverpool footballer witnessed ‘horrible’ France stabbing attack
‘Everyone was running'
Thursday 8 June 2023 13:03 , Chris Stevenson
Witnesses said at least one of the children wounded in the attack was in a stroller.
"He jumped [in the playground], started shouting and then went towards the strollers, repeatedly hitting the little ones with a knife," a witness who gave his name as Ferdinand told BFM TV.
"Mothers were crying, everybody was running," said George, another witness and owner of a nearby restaurant.
Former Liverpool player Anthony Le Tallec says he witnessed attack
Thursday 8 June 2023 12:28 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Former Liverpool FC footballer Anthony Le Tallec says he witnessed part of the attack.
Speaking in a video on Instagram, he says he was running by the lake in Annecy, and recalls people running towards him telling him to flee - having themselves seen a knifeman attacking children.
Le Tallec says the suspect then appeared in front of him, chased by police officers.
“He came near me, so I moved, I moved away,” he says.
Le Tallec adds: “I said to the cops, ‘shoot him! Kill him!’
“He attacked once, twice and then they started to shoot him.”
Knife attacker injures several, including children, in French Alpine town
Thursday 8 June 2023 12:25 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Several children – all around the age of three – have been stabbed in an attack in the town of Annecy in the French alps.
President Emmanuel Macron called the attack an act of “absolute cowardice” and said the “nation is in shock”.
A man armed with a knife is believed to have entered a children’s playground in a park near the town’s renowned lake, according to local media reports. French interior minister Gerald Darmanin said that the suspected attacker had been arrested.
Four young children and an adult were injured, according to police. Initial reports suggested up to eight children and one adult had been victims of the attack. That number could be subject to change as the situation evolves.
Police said two of the children suffered life-threatening injuries while the other two are slightly hurt. They added that the adult also suffered life-threatening wounds.
Knife attacker injures several, including children, in Annecy, France
Thursday 8 June 2023 12:25 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Welcome to our liveblog where we will keep you updated with the latest from Annecy, France where several children were stabbed.
