'I saw injured children on the ground, it was horrible,' says ex Liverpool footballer who witnessed Annecy stab attack

8 June 2023, 11:03 | Updated: 8 June 2023, 11:12

Former Liverpool footballer Anthony Le Tallec has told of his horror at witnessing the aftermath of children being stabbed near a lake in the French Alps.

Three children were left in life-threatening condition after being stabbed in a park in the town of Annecy.

Eight children, some as young as three, and one adult were injured.

Striker Le Tallec, who now works as a football coach for Annecy FC after retiring in 2021, posted on his Instagram story: “I was running by the Lake and I saw around ten people running in the opposite direction to me.

“I asked them what was happening and someone told me, run, run, there is someone stabbing people.

“He has stabbed some children, run, run!

Eight children stabbed with three critical after playground attack by 'Syrian' knifeman at park in south of France

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“I saw the guy opposite me, being chased by cops five or ten metres behind him, trying to catch him.

“…. I continued. I saw children at the end of the lake, some children on the ground. Some injured children, it’s horrible.”

A lone man armed with a knife attacked the group of children aged around three years old at 9:45 am (0745 GMT) this morning at a park near the lake, an anonymous security source and a local official told Agence France Presse.

The attack left three children in a life-threatening condition, police have said.

Eight children and one adult have been injured in total, officers added.

The suspect is believed to be a Syrian asylum seeker, according to reports from Le Parisien, BFM TV and AFP quoting police sources.

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.