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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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
France stabbing: Attacker ‘jumped’ on elderly person before being apprehended, says eyewitness
Moment knife-wielding man stalks playground before stabbing in French Alps
Sir Keir Starmer offers solidarity following Annecy knife attack
Sir Keir Starmer offered his solidarity with France after several very young children were stabbed in the French Alps.
The Labour leader tweeted: “Horrific news from Annecy.
“My thoughts are with the victims of today’s shocking attack, their families and the wider community.
“The U.K. is united in offering our support to France.”
‘You’d never think this could be possible in such a peaceful environment’, says Annecy resident
Annecy resident Dominique Griziaux said he was at the nearby “Pop Beach” when the wail of sirens filled the air. The attack had left him feeling sick inside.
“You put yourself in the place of parents and grandparents put through this drama,” said Griziaux, adding that an attack on such young children was “just unthinkable”.
“You’d never think this could be possible in such a peaceful, bucolic environment as Annecy.”
'It was horrible': Former Liverpool footballer describes Annecy knife attack
Anthony Le Tallec was jogging around the pristine waters of Lake Annecy in the foothills of the Alps when a wave of panicked bystanders rushed past in the opposite direction.
One mother urged him to turn and run.
“There’s someone stabbing everyone along the lakeshore. He’s knifed children,” Le Tallec, a former professional football player with Liverpool FC, quoted her as telling him in a video account of what he saw that he posted on Instagram.
Confused, Le Tallec said he kept jogging through the park in the town of Annecy but soon saw a man heading his way with police officers in pursuit but struggling to catch up.
“I see that he’s heading straight for a group of elderly men and women. He attacks one grandpa, stabs him once, the cops can’t catch him, so I tell the cops, ‘shoot him’,” Le Tallec continued.
‘Our lives have been turned upside down’, says father of children who witnessed attack
Speaking to reporters in France, the father of children who witnessed the knife attack in Annecy has said that his family lives have been “turned upside down.”
“We’re in a total panic. We spent two hours without any news. Now I know my children are safe”, he said.
“All of our lives have been turned upside down because for years we’ve been walking alongside the lake.
“We made it, but now we’re thinking back. Now there is a before and an after.
“We have fear in our stomachs. My children will not be living in a quiet state of mind anymore.”
‘When I heard the mother’s scream, I started to run’, says witness
A woman who said she had witnessed the attack said that the attacker had jumped over a park fence and stabbed a small girl and a baby in a stroller.
“I really thought it was a joke, but not at all,” the woman, who was not identified, told France Bleu radio.
“When I heard the mother’s scream, I started to run.”
Alleged Annecy knife attacker was granted refugee status by Sweden, says PM Borne
French prime minister Élisabeth Borne has confirmed that the alleged Annecy knife attacker, a 31-year-old man from Syria, was granted refugee status by Sweden.
The French prosecutor added that 4 children aged between 22 months and 3 years suffered life-threatening wounds.
The prosecutor added that the alleged attacker was slightly injured.
One injured child is a Dutch national, another British - Annecy prosecutor
One of the children injured in a knife attack in a playground in France is a Dutch national, and another British, the Annecy prosecutor has confirmed.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak earlier tweeted: “My thoughts are with all of those affected by the shocking attack in Annecy this morning.
Calling it a “truly cowardly act”, he said: “The UK and France have always stood together against acts of violence, and we do so again today.”
In pictures: Annecy responds to ‘savage' knife attack
France knife attack: British child among victims injured in playground stabbings
One of the children injured in a knife attack in a playground in France is a British national.
Foreign secretary James Cleverly confirmed their nationality in a statement following multiple stabbings in the town of Annecy in the French alps.
President Emmanuel Macron called the attack an act of “absolute cowardice” and said the “nation is in shock”.
A man armed with a knife is believed to have entered a children’s playground in a park near the town’s renowned lake.
French interior minister Gerald Darmanin said that the suspected attacker had been arrested and a press conference with police is due to take place shortly.
More follows:
British child among victims injured in French playground stabbings
One of the children injured in a knife attack in a playground in France is a British national.
‘Our thoughts are with the victims and the families’, says Cleverly
UK foreign secretary James Cleverly told an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) press conference: “Our thoughts are with the victims and the families and we stand ready to support the French authorities in whichever way we can.
“Also aware that one of the people, one of the children injured, was a British national. We have already deployed British consular officials who are travelling to the area to make themselves available to support the family.
“And of course we stand in strong solidarity with the people of France at this terrible time.”
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