Today (June 8), a random stabbing attack in a French playground in the Jardins de l’Europe lakeside park has left two adults and four children injured. The crime happened in Annecy, France and the person responsible is said to be “a Syrian refugee.”
Graphic videos uploaded to social media showed a man in dark clothing wielding a knife as he ran up to unsuspecting visitors and began stabbing them in the French park’s playground. One woman was pushing a stroller, and as she frantically tried to run away, the attacker repeatedly stabbed her and the child she was with. Another man, who happened to be passing by, attempted to intervene, but was also jabbed multiple times.
“We are talking about a Syrian refugee who has refugee status in Sweden and who applied for asylum in France, but this was overridden by the Swedish one,” French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne said in a statement obtained by CBS News. “This person has no criminal record and neither does he have any kind of psychiatric record.” While the unprovoked stabbing is still under investigation, public prosecutor Linne Bonnett disclosed there’s no reason to believe the crime was related to “any kind of terrorist motivation.”
Local cops quickly arrived at the scene and captured the suspect before he fled. The lone assailant was “arrested thanks to the very rapid intervention of the police,” according to French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin. Victims were rushed to nearby hospitals, and at least three of the kids were in critical condition. French President Emmanuel Macron called the stabbings an “absolutely cowardly attack.” In a social media post, he continued, “Children and an adult are between life and death. The nation is in shock. Our thoughts are with them as well as with their families and the emergency services on the scene.”