The essential :
- A man attacked several people, including young children, this Thursday around 9:45 am, in a park in the city of Annecy (Haute-Savoie).
- Six people were injured, including four children, all of whom are urgently needed. The vital prognosis is engaged for two children and an adult, according to a new report communicated to Agence France-Presse.
- The attacker arrested by the police had identity papers according to which he was of Syrian nationality, unknown to the police files and has refugee status.
- “No apparent terrorist motive” has so far been detected, according to initial information provided by the public prosecutor of Annecy, Line Bonet-Mathis.
- A minute of silence was observed in the Assembly, at the request of President Yaël Braun-Pivet.
- Élisabeth Borne and Gérald Darmanin arrived on site at the start of the afternoon.
4:31 p.m. – Important Syrian Christian community in Sweden
Many Syrians, including a large Christian community, took refuge in Sweden fleeing the war in their country from 2011. Deeming the arrivals too large, the Swedish government at the time tightened the conditions of asylum shortly after the migration crisis of 2015.
4:25 p.m. – “He could not obtain Swedish nationality”
His ex-wife showed her disbelief after the act of Abdalmasih H. According to her, he joined France from Sweden, where he lived, because he was unable to obtain Swedish nationality. “I don’t know what happened to him, what you are telling me is terrible,” she testified. “I don’t have much news, he was very elusive. He called me four months ago, he lived in a church. But I don’t know much more, he is mainly in contact with his family who lives in the United States, ”explained the young woman, also from the Middle East.
3:45 p.m. – “In the name of Jesus Christ”
According to a video that AFP was able to consult, the author said “in the name of Jesus Christ” at the time of the attack.
3:35 p.m. – “All the light must be shed”
“The investigation will clarify both the course, the profile of this assailant and naturally all the light will have to be shed. But today is the time of emotion, and we are here with the Minister of the Interior alongside the inhabitants of Annecy to express all the support and all the solidarity of the nation”, declared Élisabeth Borne, the Prime Minister.
3:32 p.m. – An “a priori isolated” individual
The suspect would be homeless with a migratory route in Europe. His asylum request was accepted, but not by France. “He is an isolated individual, Syrian, with refugee status granted in Sweden ten years ago. »
3:30 p.m. – “No psychiatric history”
“We contacted all the judicial services and the intelligence services of the other countries, in Europe and beyond, and this gentleman has no criminal record, is not known to any intelligence service and we do not did not identify any psychiatric history,” said the prosecutor.
3:28 p.m. – Six people injured
Six people, four children and two adults, were injured. “The four minors are all in a state of absolute emergency. They were transferred to various hospitals within the jurisdiction and to Switzerland, and were all victims of stab wounds, ”said the prosecutor.
One of the two adults was also hit by the bladed weapon. The second “was initially the victim of stab wounds by the author, then was, at the time of the intervention of the police services, injured by a firearm used by the police services”, continues- She.
3:26 p.m. – The suspect had only one weapon
The individual was carrying only one weapon at the time of his arrest, “a knife that we have,” said the prosecutor.
3:25 p.m. – “No apparent terrorist motivation”
“As it stands, we have no elements that could lead us to believe that there is a terrorist motivation”, specifies the prosecutor.
3:23 p.m. – An investigation opened for “attempted assassination”
“An investigation is currently underway into the heads of attempted assassination which has been entrusted to the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police,” said the prosecutor. The suspect was taken into custody at the Annecy police station. “He is not injured or very slightly,” she said.
3:12 p.m. – A young Englishman and a young German among the wounded
According to a source familiar with the matter, an English child and a German child are among the injured.
3:04 p.m. – “And I see that he goes straight towards grandpas and grandmas, and there he attacks the grandpa”
“I was running by the lake, and suddenly I see dozens of people running in the opposite direction. […] There is a mother who says to me “run, run! There’s someone stabbing everyone all along the lake, he’s stabbed kids, run!” “, testified Anthony Le Tallec, the coach of FC Annecy. “I continue and I see him coming in front of me, on the grass. I see cops who are five, ten meters behind him […]. He comes towards me, so I move away. And I see that he goes straight for grandpas and grandmas, and there he attacks the grandpa, he stabs him once. He attacks once, twice, and there they [les forces de l’ordre] start shooting, so there they shoot in front of me, at the person, so he falls to the ground […]. I continue my race, and I see children on the ground, very unhappy, children affected, ”he testified.
2:54 p.m. – The individual arrested four minutes after the alert
The emergency services were alerted at 9:41 a.m., ten minutes after the attack. The intervention was triggered immediately and the attacker was arrested four minutes later, according to a timing released by the police.
2:52 p.m. – The suspect declared himself to be a “Christian from Syria”
The suspect was wearing a Christian cross when he was arrested. In his asylum application filed in France, he declared himself a “Christian from Syria”, reported a police source.
Aeteadal K., a 50-year-old Syrian refugee who had been in contact with him in Trollhättan, Sweden, told AFP in Stockholm that he “left Sweden for France seven months ago”.
2:50 p.m. – Injured children aged 22 to 36 months
The four children injured in the knife attack in Annecy are aged 22 months to 3 years.
2:41 p.m. – “When we left high school, we were afraid of everyone”
In front of the Annecy theatre, the municipal police provide a first cordon to block access to the Parc du Pâquier. Behind them, CRS trucks and soldiers surround all the accesses to the park.
Clara, Marine and Charlotte took advantage of their high school break to come and watch from a distance. Their establishment being nearby, they often have lessons in the park, a senior class was there this morning to play Frisbee. But from the gymnasium, they have heard enough to have been traumatized by the scene and jump with each new siren. “I volunteer to give English lessons in a school, when I joined high school, everyone shouted at me to be careful, that there was a guy with a knife. And then we heard the sirens all the time, the emergency services…”. Charlotte agrees: “When we left high school, we were afraid of everyone. All the guys seemed suspicious to us. »
The school has already let them know that a psychological unit has been set up for those who need it. But the holidays starting tomorrow evening, they are not sure to go back. “It’s clear that we’re going to have the willies,” said Charlotte. “Basically, we go to the lake every day. We eat almost every lunchtime here. There, limit we do not know if we will come back. It will never be the same again. »