Harrowing words screamed by France knifeman before he stabbed kids in rampage
A knifeman reportedly screamed "In the name of Jesus Christ" before stabbing several young children and assaulting adults in the French Alps earlier today.
The suspect, who was wearing a Christian cross when he was arrested, was identified by police as 31-year-old Syrian asylum-seeker Abdalmasih H.
When he applied for refugee status in France on November 28, 2022, he described himself as a "Christian from Syria".
Video appearing to show the attack in a children's play park in the Alpine and lakeside town of Annecy 9.45am local time (8.25am BST) was posted on social media.
The horrific scenes showed a man in dark glasses and with a blue scarf covering his head brandishing a knife, as people screamed for help.
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Soldiers patrol after a knife attack in Annecy in the French Alps (AP)He first circled the playground, slashing at a bystander, and then clambered over its barriers to attack people and children inside. He appeared to stab one child in a stroller repeatedly.
According to the daily French newspaper Le Dauphiné libéré, the knifeman screamed "In the name of Jesus Christ" twice before attacking the children.
Four children, aged between 22 months and three years, and two adults were injured in the playground attack in the French Alps, a local prosecutor said.
Ambulances and rescue trucks at the park in the French Alps (AP)"The children are in a very severe state and are in intensive care," Annecy prosecutor Line Bonnet-Mathis told a press conference on Thursday.
A criminal investigation has been launched and the attacker was arrested and is being held in the Annecy police station, she said.
She added that his motives remain unclear but do not appear to be related to terrorism.
Children were injured in the attack (Mourad ALLILI/SIPA/REX/Shutterstock)French President Emmanuel Macron described the assault as an "attack of absolute cowardice". Of the victims, he said "children and an adult are between life and death".
"The nation is in shock," Macron tweeted.
Local police said the four child victims were all under age five. National police said two of the children, both around three, suffered life-threatening injuries, as did one adult.
A witness who spoke to French broadcaster BFMTV said he saw the attacker jumping on an elderly man, and stabbing him repeatedly. The witness said he yelled at the police to act.
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"I screamed, screamed at them to intervene," he said.
Security forces gather in a playground at the scene of the knife attack (AP)An ice cream seller who works in the waterside park said he'd seen the attacker there several days earlier, looking out at the lake ringed by mountains.
Local police said a second adult also was injured and was being treated with the others in a hospital.
They gave no other details about the victim, and the discrepancy in the number of adult victims wasn't immediately explained.
A local politician, Antoine Armand, said the children were attacked on a playground in the park.
A rescue helicopter at the scene (AP)Speaking to BFMTV from the National Assembly building in Paris, he said the victims included "very young" children and that they were "savagely attacked". The attack took place close to a primary school, he said.
In Paris, politicians 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."
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