France stabbing – latest: Annecy locals attend mass as Mayor says injured children are ‘stable’
Father Didier Milani and Bishop Yves Le Saux were pictured hosting the packed service in Annecy on Friday
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Your support makes all the difference.Locals have attended a mass for the victims of an “unfathomable” knife attack at a lakeside playpark in southeastern France.
Father Didier Milani and Bishop Yves Le Saux were pictured hosting the service in Annecy on Friday, one day after the incident in which four young children and two pensioners were injured, to a church packed full of people praying for the victims.
On Friday afternoon the Mayor of Annecy said he was “confident” about the condition of the children involved in the attack.
Francois Astorg told reporters close to the scene: “The children are stable right now, the adults are much better.”
A suspect has been arrested and identified as a 31-year-old Syrian refugee, who authorities say had been refused asylum in France days earlier, as he had been granted refugee status in Sweden earlier this year.
Well-wishers continued to visit the park on Friday morning to lay flowers and other tributes for those injured in the attack. The children are between 22 months and three years old.
Everything we know about suspected France playground attacker after toddlers stabbed
France knife attack: British child among young victims injured in playground stabbings
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Moment knife-wielding man stalks playground before stabbing in French Alps
Two children still in critical condition, authorities say
Two of the four very young children badly injured in Thursday’s attack remain in a critical condition this morning, a French government spokesperson has said.
The four are aged between 22 months and 3 years old. Two are French, one is British and the other Dutch.
Suspect’s ‘ex-wife’ says she has not spoken to him for four months
A woman identified as the suspect’s ex-wife said she had not spoken to him for four months.
Speaking to BFM TV, the woman said her ex-husband was a Christian and had not previously shown a violent streak.
“[Our relationship] stopped because we lived in Sweden and he did not want to live in Sweden anymore,” she told the broadcaster.
Swedish authorities say the suspect was granted asylum 10 years ago, but had twice been refused citizenship in 2017 and 2018, and had reapplied last August.
Live: People lay flowers after knife attack in Annecy
Our video team has this live feed showing the scene of the attack, where some people are laying flowers and other items for the victims.
Dozens of tributes including flowers, teddy bears, candles and written messages were left at the park on Thursday night, with messages including “Love Annecy”, and “Children I don’t know you but in this hour you are fighting”.
Sweden confirms suspect was granted asylum there 10 years ago
Authorities in Sweden have corroborated remarks by France’s interior minister that the suspect was denied asylum in France days before the attack because he was granted asylum in Sweden 10 years go.
The Swedish Migration Agency confirmed the suspect was granted permanent residency in 2013 and, without identifying him, said he subsequently sought Swedish citizenship in 2017 and 2018, both of which applications were denied, and applied again in August last year.
Mr Darmanin, France’s interior minister, said the suspect entered France legally.
He said: “For some reasons we don’t really understand, he applied for asylum in Switzerland, in Italy and in France, which he didn’t need to do as he already had asylum in Sweden for the past 10 years.”
France: Flowers and toys laid in tribute at Annecy park after children and adults stabbed
Dozens of tributes including flowers, teddy bears, candles and written messages were left at a park in the French Alps following the stabbing attack that left four children - including a British girl - and two adults injured.
The area, which has a number of wooden structures for children to play on, was open to the public but empty at 12pm local time.
One of the messages left said: “Love Annecy.”
Police say they have arrested a suspect, a 31-year-old Syrian, following the attack.
Flowers and toys laid in tribute at Annecy park after horror knife attack
Dozens of tributes including flowers, teddy bears, candles and written messages were left at a park in the French Alps following the stabbing attack that left four children - including a British girl - and two adults injured. The area, which has a number of wooden structures for children to play on, was open to the public but empty at 12pm local time. One of the messages left said: “Love Annecy.” Police say they have arrested a suspect, a 31-year-old Syrian, following the attack.
Suspect denied French asylum, says minister
The suspect in the stabbings of a group of children in the French Alps was denied asylum in France just days before the attack, according to a minister.
Police have identified the suspect as a 31-year-old Syrian. He has been arrested on suspicion of attacking four children and two adults at a lakeside park in Annecy on Thursday.
French interior minister Gerald Darmanin said the suspect had tried to claim asylum in France, but it was refused on Sunday because he had previously been granted asylum in Sweden 10 years ago.
More here.
Suspect in playground attack denied French asylum, minister says
A three-year-old British girl was injured in the stabbings in Annecy, according to reports.
Attacked children now in stable condition
The four young children stabbed in an open-air playground in France are now reportedly in stable condition.
The children, aged between 22 months and three, were transferred to hospitals in the French Alps and across the Swiss border in Geneva. One of the injured children is a three-year-old British national.
A 70-year-old man was also seriously injured – first by the knifeman and then by police fire during the attack – but is also in stable condition.
A second adult was treated for injuries not believed to be life-threatening.
British child among six stabbed in knife attack
A three-year-old British girl on holiday with her family was among four toddlers and two adults stabbed in an “odious and unspeakable” attack in an open-air playground in France on Thursday.
Witnesses described scenes of panic as screaming mothers sought to protect children from the assailant, who rampaged around a lakeside park in Annecy, in the French Alps.
At least one child was stabbed in a pram despite desperate efforts by a woman to push him aside.
Video showed the attack slashing at his victims and shouting “in the name of Jesus Christ.”Police have arrested a suspect, who they identified as a 31-year-old Syrian man who came to Europe a decade ago as a refugee.
British toddler among six stabbed in French playground horror
Girl on holiday with family among four children – all aged three or younger – and two adults injured in savage attack by knifeman
Woman leaps in front of attacker to save child
A woman bravely leapt in front of a pushchair to protect a child during the knife attack at a lakeside park in the French Alps.
The woman got in the way of the killer as he lunged at the innocent child, according to videos and eye witness reports.
Other videos from Thursday’s carnage show a bystander using his backpack in a bid to fend off the attacker after chasing him from the playground.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz condemns ‘odious and despicable’ stabbing
German chancellor Olaf Scholz has condemned the attack that saw four children injured on Thursday morning.
Scholz also revealed that the attack in the French Alps town of Annecy had involved a German child.
“Germany is shocked by this odious and despicable attack,” he said.
