In eastern France, several children were injured in a knife attack. Several victims are in mortal danger as a result of the attack.
Update from June 9, 12:52 p.m.: The man who attacked four toddlers with a knife in Annecy, unfortunately allegedly suffering from "severe depression". His mother, who lives in the United States, told the German Press Agency. She refers to his ex-wife. Again and again he had gloomy thoughts and did not want to leave the house. The mother suspects that his condition worsened when his application for Swedish citizenship was denied.
According to the current state of investigation, it is a Syrian who lived as a refugee in Sweden for ten years. His asylum application in France was recently rejected, says France's Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin.
412362382.jpg © Jean-Christophe Bott/dpa/picture alliance
There are currently no indications of a terrorist motive, according to the public prosecutor's office. The man was homeless. He was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs during the crime. He was married and has a three-year-old child. Eyewitnesses report that the man had often hung around in the park by the lake in recent weeks and made a disturbed impression. On Friday, the 31-year-old is to be psychiatrically examined.
Two of the four injured children remain in mortal danger, a government spokesman said. All four have already undergone surgery. Her condition was "stable," Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne told broadcaster BFM.
Attack in France: Man attacks toddlers with knife – victim in mortal danger
First reported on June 8, 20:01 p.m.: Munich – Just a few days after President Emmanuel Macron's state visit to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), a cruel message overshadows France: On Thursday (8 June), a knife attack occurred in a park in the eastern French city of Annecy, in which several small children were injured, some of them life-threatening.
A man suddenly attacked four toddlers and two adults with a knife on a playground and injured them. According to French media reports, people ran for their lives, others overwhelmed the perpetrator.
Man attacks toddlers with knife in France
The alleged perpetrator is a man, the exact circumstances of the crime were initially unclear. As reported by several French television stations, several groups of children were in the park near the famous Lake Annecy at the time of the crime. Several toddlers were injured in the man's knife attack, some seriously. The police in Annecy subsequently announced that two toddlers and an adult were even in mortal danger.
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Several toddlers have been the victim of a knife attack in the eastern French city of Annecy. © Florent Pecchio/dpa
Several French politicians have already commented on the act. French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin published in a tweet that the forces of law and order intervened very quickly. French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne spoke of a "cowardly and heinous act."
In the aftermath of the attack, the National Assembly even interrupted its plenary debate for a minute's silence. Parliament President Yaël Braun-Pivet said: "We hope that the consequences of this very serious attack will not be consequences that will lead the nation into mourning."
German Foreign Minister Baerbock comments on the knife attack
The knife attack in France did not leave Germany unscathed either. The attack is reminiscent of the attack on two elementary school students in Illerkirchberg. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock condemned the attack: "There is nothing more cowardly than attacking defenseless small children," she said during a trip to Latin America. She said she was "deeply shocked like so many people in Europe." As Baerbock further explained, her "thoughts are with the victims, some of whom were seriously injured, and all our solidarity goes out to our French friends."
The investigation into the knife attack in Annecy continues. The investigators currently see no reason to assume a terrorist motive, as the prosecutor of the southeastern French city of Annecy, Line Bonnet-Mathis, stated. The attacker has already been caught and is currently being interrogated by investigators about his motives – the motive is still unclear. The public prosecutor's office is investigating attempted murder. (Rodi/dpa)