France was once again shaken by an attack on civilians this Thursday, June 8. This time, it was children aged between 22 months and 3 years who were victims of this barbaric attack. Here are the details.
On the morning of this Thursday, June 8, an individual armed with a knife sowed terror in a park near Lake Annecy, seriously injuring several children before being apprehended. According to information from the prefecture of Haute-Savoie, the events took place around 9:45 am in the gardens of Europe, which are part of the Pâquier, a park located near the town hall of Annecy. This park is home to several playgrounds and a school.
According to witnesses, the assailant attacked strollers in a playground. ” He jumped into the area, started screaming and headed straight for the strollers, repeatedly stabbing the children.”said a witness interviewed by the press.
The man then tried to escape from the playground and attacked an elderly person before being quickly apprehended by the police, witnesses said. The emergency services were alerted at 9:41 a.m. and the intervention was immediately triggered. The assailant was arrested four minutes later, as indicated by a police-issued stopwatch. On the field, the surroundings of the park were secured by a large police force.
Following this tragedy which struck France, the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, spoke at a press conference at the start of the afternoon, alongside Line Bonnet-Mathis, public prosecutor of Annecy which said at least six people, including four children aged 22 months to 3 years, were injured. Among them, two are of Dutch and English nationality. The four children are in critical condition, according to the prosecutor, noting that all the victims were evacuated to hospitals in the region.
Still according to the Annecy prosecutor, an adult was slightly injured, while a sixth person was injured both by the attacker and by a firearm used by the police. The prefecture has set up an information unit that can be reached on 04 50 33 61 33.
The attacker is apparently a homeless man with a migration background in Europe. He obtained asylum in Sweden ten years ago, but not in France, said the prosecutor. He is a Syrian who has had refugee status in Sweden for ten years, although he has applied for asylum in France. The prosecutor clarified that her asylum application in France was ” not applicable because he had already been granted refugee status in Sweden.
When arrested, the man wore a Christian cross and declared himself ” syrian christian in his application for asylum in France, according to a police source. A video seen by Agence France Presse (AFP) indicates that the assailant said the words ” in the name of jesus christ at the time of the attack.
The prosecutor added that the attacker was in possession of a single weapon, which is now in the custody of authorities. The individual was not injured and will be questioned to determine his motives. He was taken into custody for attempted murder on the premises of the Annecy police station. According to Elisabeth Borne, the attacker has no criminal record, is not known to any intelligence service and no psychiatric history has been identified.
According to the prosecutor, there is currently ” no apparent terrorist motive“. An evaluation is in progress, in accordance with the usual procedure. She stressed that there is no evidence to suggest that the motivations are linked to terrorism.
For his part, French President Emmanuel Macron condemned a ” attack of absolute cowardice and expressed its solidarity with the victims and their families. A minute of silence was observed in the National Assembly in tribute to the victims of this ” serious attack ». Laurent Wauquiez, president of the Republicans of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, described the attack as “horrible and hailed the courageous intervention of the police. Political figures from various walks of life have also expressed their dismay at this act of violence against innocent children.