Two children fight for life after being stabbed ‘by Syrian attacker’ at playground near lake in France

8 June 2023, 10:36 | Updated: 8 June 2023, 13:41

Read the latest: British girl, three, among children injured in France knife rampage as police shoot and arrest Syrian attacker

By EJ Ward

Two children and an adult are fighting for life after being stabbed in a park in Annecy in southeast France.

A lone attacker, later identified as a Syrian asylum seeker, armed with a knife attacked a group of children aged around three years old at 9:45 am (0745 GMT) this morning at a park near the lake - stabbing children in their prams.

The attack left two children and one adult in a life-threatening condition, police have said.

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The suspect had been identified as a Syrian asylum seeker, according to reports from Le Parisien, BFM TV and AFP quoting police sources.

Police have said the man who carried out the attack was shot in the legs, overpowered, and arrested.

President Macron branded the attack one of "absolute cowardice."

He tweeted: "Attack of absolute cowardice this morning in a park in Annecy. Children and an adult are between life and death. The Nation is in shock. Our thoughts are with them as well as their families and the emergency services mobilized."

The suspect "has been arrested thanks to the rapid reaction of security forces", Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin tweeted.

He confirmed the attack, saying: "Several people, including children, were injured by an individual armed with a knife in a square in Annecy."

Witnesses told Le Dauphine that a man wearing a turban began attacking the group of young children while they were playing at a small playground in Annecy.

"We saw a person attacking children, small ones, obviously that was his target. After people tried to scare him, he walked away and the police intervened.

"He spoke English. In the beginning, we all thought it was staged, but with the cries of people, we realise that it's reality, the guy was confused", a witness at the scene told France Bleu Pays de Savoie.

Former Saint-Etienne and Liverpool player Anthony Le Tallec, who ended his career in Annecy, where he still lives, was jogging at the time of the tragedy and came across the attacker , he posted on Instagram that he was told: "Don't go there, there is someone stabbing children"

Eight children aged three are stabbed by 'Syrian asylum seeker' in French playground leaving three victims in critical condition before knifeman is subdued

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Armed police arrived at the scene and quickly subdued the knifeman before he was arrested and taken to hospital for injuries, the French newspaper reported.

Local media, BFM TV reported the victims were around three years old.

France's National Assembly has observed a minute of silence and roads are blocked around the scene of the attack.

Antoine Armand, a member of Parliament for Haute-Savoie, also condemned the attack saying it was "abominable."

He continued: "Abominable knife attack on children in a playground in Annecy. We still know very little but all my support for the victims, relatives, law enforcement and rescue. With you in mind."

The French prime minister, Élisabeth Borne, is on her way to the scene.