Youngest victim in France stabbings is 22-month-old baby left fighting for life
The youngest victim of a horrific knife attack in the French Alps is a 22-month-old toddler who was left fighting for their life, officials have said.
Four young children were critically injured and two adults were wounded when the suspect, identified by police as 31-year-old Syrian asylum seeker Abdalmasih H, attacked people with a knife in the town of Annecy on Thursday.
The man, who reportedly screamed "In the name of Jesus Christ", stabbed a child in a pushchair repeatedly as bystanders screamed for help.
The victims, aged between 22 months and three years, are in a "very severe state" and currently in intensive care, according to a local prosecutor.
Police officers work inside a cordoned-off area following the attack (JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)The Annecy prosecutor said: "Their state of health is extremely fragile, today they are still in intensive care."
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In total, six people were injured of which four were children. Two of the children are French, one is British and one Dutch.
All of the victims were stabbed with an adult severely injured and another lightly wounded. One of the adults was shot by police during the arrest.
More than 200 emergency service personnel were mobilised, including 160 police officers, 15 doctors and 60 paramedic firefighters.
The knifeman's motives remain unclear but do not appear to be related to terrorism, Line Bonnet-Mathis told a press conference.
The suspect was detainedForeign Secretary James Cleverly confirmed that one of the children injured was a British national.
Laurent Wauquiez, president of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, said: "It happened opposite Lake Annecy, next to the Pont des Amours, in a children's park, in a haven of peace.
"There are questions, but today we have to think about families. There is currently a 22-month-old child who is fighting for life. It is a huge trauma for everyone."
A class of secondary school children was among those who witnessed the atrocity.
Mathilde Fuzat, 18, was in a sports class in the gardens at the time of the attack.
Officers stand near Paquier park in Annecy (Getty Images)She said: "I saw a mother picking up a child from the ground."
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France is in shock but is "standing firm" after the horrific attack, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said.
The attacker was a Syrian national who has refugee status in Sweden, she said. He has no criminal or psychiatric record.
"We are talking here about infants, very young infants who have been very seriously injured," she told the press conference, according to a translation.
"We are absolutely shaken by all this and we are standing firm by the people of Annecy."
Mr Cleverly, speaking at an OECD ministerial council press conference in France hours after the attack, said: "We have already deployed British consular officials who are travelling to the area to make themselves available to support the family.
Four children were critically injured and two adults were also wounded (Getty Images)"And of course we stand in strong solidarity with the people of France at this terrible time."
Police overpowered and arrested the assailant, who is detained in the Annecy police station.
Video on social media appeared to show the attack in a children's play park.
Footage showed a man in dark glasses and with a blue scarf covering his head brandishing a blade as people screamed for help.
He first circled the playground, slashing at a bystander, and then climbed over its barriers to attack people inside.
The knife attack happened this morning (Getty Images)French President Emmanuel Macron described the attack as one of "absolute cowardice".
Of the victims, he said, "children and an adult are between life and death".
"The nation is in shock," he tweeted.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak 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."
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