Horrifying footage shows a Syrian refugee repeatedly stabbing a toddler in his stroller in front of his screaming mother. A frantic attack on a French playground resulted in the stabbing of four children.
The attacker, identified as Abdalmash H, 32, launched his “vile” killing spree at around 9.45am in a lakeside park in Annecy, an Alpine town in south-eastern France.
Video shows the attacker running into the small playground and repeatedly stabbing a toddler in his stroller while his screaming mother tries to shield him from the attack.
Additional dramatic footage shows the attacker, a Syrian refugee who arrived in France last year and was later pinned to the ground in the park by armed police after being chased from the playground by locals.
Horrified witnesses say mothers ran past them screaming “run, run” after the lunatic attack, which President Emmanuel Macron has condemned as “absolute cowardice”.
Four children, aged around three – reportedly including a three-year-old British girl – and an adult were seriously injured in the attack. Two of the young victims and the adult are currently in a life-threatening condition at a nearby hospital.
Witnesses said the stabber began attacking the preschoolers while they were playing in a small playground, resulting in an outright “slaughter.” They said he launched his attack on the toddlers because they were “easy targets”.
Horrifying footage shows a Syrian refugee repeatedly stabbing a toddler in his stroller in front of his screaming mother. A frantic attack on a French playground resulted in the stabbing of four children
Video shows the attacker running into the small playground and repeatedly stabbing a toddler in his stroller while his screaming mother tries to shield him from the attack.
The attacker, identified as Abdalmash H, 32, (pictured with the knife in the playground) started his “heinous” killing spree at around 9.45am in a lakeside park in Annecy, an Alpine town in south-eastern France
Six children aged three were stabbed to death in a French playground this morning before the attacker could be subdued by police. Pictured: Armed police at the scene
Witnesses said they heard the man scream before he began attacking the small children in the playground. One of the injured children was in a stroller.
Horrifying video of the attack shows Abdalmash H running with a knife at a screaming mother with her little boy in a stroller before a local hit the attacker with his backpack and chased him away.
But the knife fighter jumps onto the playground again and runs towards the mother and her toddler. The woman screams and tries to shield her son with her body, but Abdalmash quickly walks around her and stabs the little boy twice.
The toddler is seen screaming in pain while the mother and terrified parents scream for help as the attacker runs away again.
But the slaughter continues. Abdalmash H runs back towards the child in the stroller and stabs him again in front of his horrified mother before being chased away by a local who throws his bag at him.
Another video, taken minutes after the stabbing, shows the attacker being chased through the park by locals. Parents can be heard in the background screaming for help for their injured children.
Armed police arrived at the scene shortly after and subdued the stabber before he was arrested in the attack, which seriously injured four children and one adult.
Police sources told C-News that a two-year-old boy, his older sister, a three-year-old girl believed to be British and a 22-month-old boy from Germany were injured in the attack. A 70-year-old man who was sitting on a bench when the knifeman launched his attack was reportedly stabbed in the neck and taken to hospital.
A witness, who gave his name as Ferdinand, described the attack to BFM TV as follows: “He jumped (in the playground), started screaming and then walked towards the prams, repeatedly hitting the little ones with a knife .”
“Mothers were crying, everyone was running,” said George, another witness and owner of a nearby restaurant.
Another witness, who asked not to be named, said: “The man was screaming in English causing absolute panic as he started attacking the little ones.”
“He wanted to hurt as many people as possible.” He caused a bloodbath. “The little kids were just easy targets.”
Paramedics treat victims at the crime scene in Annecy on Thursday
Three children are now in critical condition and fighting for their lives at a nearby hospital after the attack. Pictured: The scene
Armed police officers arrived at the scene and quickly overpowered the knife man (pictured), believed to be a Syrian asylum seeker, before he was arrested and taken to hospital for injuries, the French newspaper reported
Former Liverpool footballer Anthony Le Tallec said he saw a group of people run towards him before a mother yelled at him: “Run, run, there’s someone stabbing everyone all over the lake.” They stabbed them Children, run, run!’
He continued, “I was so surprised, I continued and then all of a sudden the guy appeared in front of me, then I saw the police who were ten meters behind him but they hadn’t managed to catch him yet.” He was so close to me that I avoided him.”
Another witness told Le Dauphine: “We saw one person attacking children playing, small children, obviously that was his aim.” After people tried to scare him, he walked away and the police intervened .
“He spoke English. “In the beginning we all thought it was a staging, but from the screams of the people we realized it was real.”
One man told broadcaster BFMTV he saw first responders working on “small bodies, maybe three or four years old.”
The Interior Ministry said Abdalmash H is a Syrian citizen with legal refugee status in France after arriving in the country last year.
He was not known to security officials and his motives were unclear, an investigative source said.
An investigating source said: “The attacker was a Syrian asylum seeker who spent a lot of time in Annecy.”
“He was in a parking lot when he began the attack at around 9.45am. “He attacked children indiscriminately and also injured an adult.”
According to an investigating source, Abdalmash H. is himself married, the father of a three-year-old and a devout Christian.
“He married a Swede and they have a child together,” said an investigative source. “He entered France legally from Sweden late last year.”
The source said Abdalmasih H. was a “professed and devout Christian” who was carrying a prayer book and a cross at the time of his arrest.
Verified images posted to social media showed Abdalmasih H. wearing shorts, sunglasses and a scarf around his head, walking towards the children before launching his attack.
The stabber was arrested shortly thereafter after a brief altercation. Video shows three armed police officers and a man holding the attacker on the grass before he is taken away.
Abdalmasih H. himself was seriously injured by the police and taken to hospital along with his five victims.
Paramedics rush to treat victims of the gruesome attack in the city of Annecy, France today
Witnesses told Le Dauphine that around 9.45am a man started attacking the group of young children as they were playing in a small playground in Annecy, an Alpine town in south-eastern France
A medic rushes to treat the victims of the Annecy attack today which left several children injured
Paramedics and police officers are seen at the scene of the rampant knife attack in Annecy
France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin tweeted: “Several people, including children, were injured by a person armed with a knife in a square in Annecy.”
“The person was arrested thanks to the very quick intervention of the police.”
Mr Darmanin confirmed five people were injured, including four young children, two of whom are in intensive care.
French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted: “This morning there was an attack of absolute cowardice in a park in Annecy.” Children and adults are caught between life and death.
“The nation is in shock.” Our thoughts are with them, their families and the emergency services who mobilized.”
According to her advisor, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne is now traveling to the scene of the crime.
Local politician Antoine Armand said in a tweet that children had been attacked at a playground in a “heinous” attack.
He wrote: “We still know very little but my full support for the victims, families, law enforcement and rescue.”
And François Astorg, the Mayor of Annecy, said: “A horrific attack this morning on the Paquier Park in Annecy.” “All my thoughts go to the victims and their families.”
Politicians in the Paris National Assembly interrupted a debate this morning to hold a minute’s silence for victims of the knife attack.
Politicians in the Paris National Assembly observed a minute’s silence for the victims of the knife attack this morning
Assembly President Yaël Braun-Pivet said: “There are some very young children who are in critical condition and I invite you to observe a minute’s silence for them, their families and, we hope, for the aftermath “This very serious attack does not evoke mourning in the nation.”
France has been shocked by a spate of violent incidents in recent months, including last month’s fatal stabbing of a nurse in the northern city of Reims. Also last month, a drunk driver accidentally killed three police officers.
Macron has denounced what he calls a “decivilization process” in the country, while opposition MPs say his government has been too lax on law and order.
“Nothing is more heinous than attacking children,” National Assembly Speaker Yael Braun-Pivet said on Twitter. Parliament observed a minute’s silence over the incident.