Several children were injured in a stabbing in the French Alps

First modification: 06/08/2023 – 12:33

French President Emmanuel Macron described the stabbing in a park in the French Alps as a “cowardly” act, most of the victims being children around three years of age.

A man armed with a knife spread terror around 9:45 am local time when he attacked a group of people with a knife in a park on the shores of Lake Annecy in the French Alps, police said.

As a result, at least four children and one adult were injured. Of them, three are in critical condition, including two minors, according to a security source told the AFP agency.

It was an “absolute cowardice attack (…) Children and adults are between life and death. The nation is in shock. Our thoughts are with them, their families and the mobilized emergency services, ”remarked the French president through his Twitter account.

The attacker is in custody

The attacker was arrested and it would be a man of Syrian origin and with legal refugee status in the country, the Police reported. The attacker, about 30 years old, had no criminal record.

“Several people, including children, were injured by an individual armed with a knife in an Annecy square. The individual was arrested thanks to the same speed of intervention by law enforcement,” Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said.

The authorities are investigating whether or not it was a terrorist act and have established a crisis unit in the Haute-Savoie prefecture, to which the town where the attack occurred belongs.

With AFP and Reuters