Why did Abdalmasih H. stab children on Thursday in Annecy? Since his arrest, a few minutes after the attack that left six wounded, this Syrian refugee wandering in France has given no explanation for his gesture. The individual, with no known psychiatric history, "rolled on the ground" Thursday, according to a source close to the investigation.
On Friday, the 31-year-old suspect was still unfit to be heard. After a psychiatric examination carried out in the morning, however, his condition was found to be compatible with police custody, which was extended. If the examination had concluded that discernment had been abolished, police custody would have been lifted and the doctors would have taken over.
According to our information, he will be brought before a judge on Saturday morning, for his indictment. The investigation had been opened for "attempted murder".
'No apparent terrorist motive'
At this stage, the motives of the assailant seem "without apparent terrorist motive", according to the Annecy prosecutor's office. The National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor's Office (Pnat) has therefore not taken up the case. "It is not because he does not do it now, that he will not do it in the hours or days to come," said Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, guest of BFMTV this Friday evening.
Investigations are continuing to profile the suspect and trace his background. Abdalmasih H., with no criminal record, lived for ten years in Sweden. Father of a 3-year-old child, he had left his family a few months ago to go to France and had been in Annecy, homeless, since autumn 2022. When he acted, he was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
He was traveling legally "thanks to his refugee status obtained in Sweden," Camille Chaize, spokeswoman for the Ministry of the Interior, said on Twitter, also indicating that he had also visited Switzerland and Italy. In his new asylum application filed in France in November 2022, he declared himself a "Christian from Syria". He was wearing a Christian cross when he was arrested.
