He didn't pick up a word. Silent in front of the police during the forty-eight hours of his custody, the assailant of Annecy (Haute-Savoie) also "refused to speak" before the investigating judges, said this Saturday the prosecutor of the Republic of the city, Line Bonnet-Mathis. Abdalmasih H., the perpetrator of the stabbing attack that killed six people on Thursday, including four very young children in a playground, was indicted for "attempted murder" and "rebellion with a weapon" and placed in pre-trial detention. Case in prison for this 31-year-old Syrian refugee whose criminal act has shaken the country and whose motivations, such as mental state, remain to be clarified.
"Premature", thus cautiously advanced the prosecutor, as to "a presence or absence of psychiatric pathology at this stage". "Premature" also "to make assessments on the motivations of this act," she said, recalling that none of a terrorist nature "appears at this stage". Examined twice by a doctor, Abdalmasih H. was seen by a psychiatrist who concluded that there was an "absence of frank delusional elements". During his arrest, in addition to his weapon, a folding knife, the man was carrying "two Christian images, a cross around his neck, 480 euros in cash and a Swedish driving license," listed the magistrate. Witnesses to the attack heard him refer to "his wife, his daughter" and "Jesus Christ."
VIDEO. Annecy attack: in Sweden, a former neighbour of Abdalmasih H. describes a "lonely" man
The investigations, conducted under the leadership of two investigating judges, will now focus "on his environment, his background and his personality," announced the prosecutor of the Republic of Annecy. Born in Syria in 1991, leaving his country in 2013, Abdalmasih H. stayed in Turkey, where he met his future wife, also Syrian, before settling with her in Sweden, where he obtained political asylum. Father of a 3-year-old child, separated from his wife for a few months, the man left this country in May 2022 for Italy and Switzerland.
He entered France on October 26, 2022, said Line Bonnet-Mathis, stressing that there was therefore "right to stay". Abdalmasih H. filed an asylum application at the prefecture of Isère the day after his arrival, rejected because of the protection he already enjoyed in Sweden – which was served on him on June 4 "electronically". Did the news of this rejection, which came only four days before the attack, precipitate a passage to the act? "Disturbing coincidence," said Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin. Homeless in Annecy, the man lived in the common areas of a building and had remained until then "unknown" to the police and justice services.
Children, affected in the chest and abdomen, are better
The public prosecutor confirmed the chronology of the attack. After a first sequence on the playground of the Esplanade du Pâquier, where the refugee leaves five victims, including the four children aged 2 to 3, the madman is "put on the run by several third parties" - including a young student of 24 years. He is subdued 300 m further after wounding his 6th victim, also hit by police fire. This shot "made it possible to stop" the assailant who "resisted his arrest". Captured by BFMTV this Saturday, a singular image shows him transported by police officers, tied to a chair, his head tilted back, for his transfer to the judicial court.
This Saturday, "no more vital prognosis is engaged," announced the magistrate detailing the condition of each of the victims. The four children, still hospitalized in Grenoble (Isère) for the two French children and the young Briton, and in Geneva (Switzerland) for the Dutch child, suffer from chest and/or abdominal wounds that required heavy surgery. The seriously injured adult, also operated, was heard by investigators. The other had been treated on the spot.
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This Sunday morning at 11 am in Annecy, as the animation film festival opens, the City has planned to organize "a citizen gathering in support of the victims and their loved ones". "A moment of solidarity and fraternity," wishes the town hall, in a context where the attack also arouses the mobilization of the fachosphere.
