British girl, 3, among four children stabbed by knifeman in playground bloodbath
A British girl is among the stabbing victims of the attack at a lakeside park in a town in the French Alps, according to local media.
A knife-wielding man stabbed four children and two adults at a bucolic lakeside park today and it has been revealed one of the victims was a three-year-old girl of English nationality.
She was transported to a hospital in Grenoble, around 65 miles away, according to CNews.
Horrific footage from a bystander shows a panicked mum inside the enclosed playground frantically pushing her pram without knowing what to do.
She cries for help and rams the stroller into the park’s barriers in her terror.
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The man was arrested by police at the sceneThe 31-year-old Syrian asylum-seeker then jumps over the playground fence, shouting and running towards the mum before he repeatedly stabs the little one in the buggy.
The man is seen in dark glasses and with a blue scarf covering his head brandishing a knife, as people screamed for help.
He has since been named as 32-year-old Abdalmasih H.
The moment police tackled the knifeman, thought to be Abdalmaish HForeign Secretary James Cleverly was speaking at an OECD ministerial council press conference in France, hours after the attack and confirmed that a British toddler was injured.
He said he "aware that one of the people, one of the children injured, was a British national".
The man was injured and arrested at the scene, as politicians from across the European nation condemned the bloodbath.
French police officers stand next to an emergency truck in Annecy (AFP via Getty Images)CNews also said: "A two-year-old boy, in intensive care, and his older sister were injured and evacuated to the Annecy Genevois Hospital.
"While a 22-month-old boy, of German nationality, was taken to Geneva Hospital, in Switzerland."
"A 70-year-old man, who was sitting on a bench, was injured with a knife in the neck, but was also shot, was also transferred to the Annecy Genevois hospital, according to a police source."
The knife-wielding man was arrested at the sceneThe suspect slashed at another man carrying rucksacks who tried to approach him, seemingly trying to stop the attack.
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A man who spoke to broadcaster BFMTV said he saw first-aiders working on "little bodies".
An investigating source said: "The attacker was a Syrian asylum seeker who has spent a lot of time in Annecy. He targeted children indiscriminately, and also wounded an adult."
Large police presence at the scene (Mourad ALLILI/SIPA/REX/Shutterstock)French President Emmanuel Macron has condemned the attack as "absolute cowardice."
Former Liverpool football player Anthony le Tallec was on a run in the town, where he currently lives, at the time of the attack.
He said he heard people yelling "Run! Run!" and watched as the police chased the alleged attacker down.
The moment the man runs towards people in the parkHe said the attacker then rushed up to an older man nearby and stabbed him multiple times: "I see he headed straight to some old men and women. He attacked an old man, stabbed him."
Le Tallec continued: "I see the guy arrive in front of me on the grass, and I see the police about 5-10m behind, who can’t catch him."
He shouted at the police to kill the man in response to the mass stabbing rampage he was carrying out.
A helicopter arrives on the scene (SKY NEWS)"I told the police: 'But... Shoot him, kill him! He’s stabbing everyone.' He attacked the old man once, twice and then they started shooting.
"They shot him in front of me and he fell to the ground, but the old man was already stabbed. I kept running and saw children lying on the ground - it was so sad.
"They were attacked, it’s unbelievable. But the police - their slowness, what I perceived - their slowness to reply, he had time to stab the man twice."
Security personnel gathering in the area following the horrific stabbing (AFP via Getty Images)In Paris, lawmakers interrupted a debate to hold a moment of silence for the victims.
The assembly president, 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 very grave attack do not lead to the nation grieving.”
Similarly, the mayor of Annecy, François Astorg, branded the attack "appalling".
French media reported that Abdalmasih H said "in the name of Jesus Christ" during the attack and presented as a Christian from Syria as he applied for asylum in France in November last year.
Please check back regularly for updates on this developing story .
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