Man Goes On Stabbing Spree In French Alps, Several Children Injured

France's interior minister Gerald Darmanin said the attack took place in a square in the town of Annecy. In a short tweet, he said police have detained the attacker.

Outlook Web Desk

Updated on: 8 June 2023 9:34 am

Crime Scene (Representative Image)

An attacker with a knife injured children and others in a town in the Alps on Thursday before he was quickly arrested, France's interior minister said.?The children, aged between 22 months and 3 years, suffered life-threatening wounds, along with two injured adults," said the French prosecutor leading the investigation into the knife attack. "While the motives of the 31-year-old Syrian suspect remain unknown, they do not appear to be terrorism-related," the prosecutor added. French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne confirmed, "The man has refugee status in Sweden.

Gerald Darmanin said the attack took place in a square in the town of Annecy. In a short tweet, he said police have detained the attacker.

“Several people including children have been injured by an individual armed with a knife in a square in Annecy,” he tweeted.

Panic ensued in the picturesque town in French Alps as people were seen running, crying and seeking help. The incident happened at around 9:45 AM when the?man entered a children’s playground with a knife and attacked a group of kids as young as three years old, as per security officials quoted in media reports.

A local lawmaker, Antoine Armand, tweeted that children were attacked on a playground. He called the attack “abominable”.

In Paris, lawmakers interrupted a debate to hold a moment of silence for the victims, BFMTV reported.