Harrowing video shows four children stabbed by Syrian refugee in France

A man attacked four toddlers and two adults at a park in the French Alps on Thursday morning.

A harrowing video shows the moment a Syrian asylum seeker repeatedly stabbed a toddler in a pram in front of its mother in an attack at playground in the French Alps.

Four children and two adults were stabbed at the play park in Annecy, 30km south of Geneva, at 9.45am (5.45pm AEST) on Thursday.

Two of the children and an adult sustained life-threatening injuries.

The victims age in range from 22 months to three years.

One of the children is believed to a British girl and is receiving treatment at Grenoble hospital. Another victim is Dutch.

Officials have said they are not aware of a “terrorist motivation,” at the moment.

Four children were injured after being stabbed by a man (left) in a French Park. Picture: AFPTV / AFP

‘In the name of Jesus Christ’

The suspect, who is 31, shouted “in the name of Jesus Christ” in English before stabbing young children.

Footage of the attack shows the refugee running around the playground before stabbing a toddler in its pram as its mother screamed.

An eyewitness, who asked not to be named, said: “The man was shouting in English, and caused absolute panic when he started attacking the little ones.

“He wanted to hurt as many people as he could. He caused carnage. The young children were just easy targets.”

Another eyewitness described how they saw a man attacking younger children who were playing in the playground.

The suspect was chased around the park by locals before being shot by police.

He is now in custody.

T.W: A Syrian man can be seen stabbing kids in the playground in a town in French Alps. 4 nursery kids and one adult stabbed. Kids in critical condition.
He is an asylum seeker who came from war torn Syria to France.

This is beyond horrific. pic.twitter.com/vz11cU27Tm

— Ali Raza (@shezanmango) June 8, 2023

President Emmanuel Macron called the attack “an act of absolute cowardice”.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin tweeted that the culprit “has been arrested thanks to the rapid reaction of security”.

The knifeman was identified by the French Interior Ministry as Abdalmash H.

“He arrived in France in 2022, and had refugee status,” said a spokesman.

Police officers work inside a cordoned-off area of the children’s playground. Picture: Jean-Christophe Bott/EPA/AAP

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said the suspect had “no criminal or psychiatric record” and indeed had children of a similar age to the ones he attacked.

Annecy prosecutor Line Bonnet-Mathis said there “doesn’t seem to be any kind of terrorist motivation”.

French forensic police officers work at the scene in Annecy. Picture: Olivier Chassignole/AFP

Meanwhile, president of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Laurent Wauquiez tweeted: “Horror again. This attack on children is the height of the abomination.

“I extend my full support to the victims and their families. Congratulations to our police officers for the courage they showed in arresting the assailant.”

Police have said the suspect was a Syrian refugee who had asylum in Sweden who recently arrived in France despite his family, including a three year old child, being in the Scandinavian country.

Last year he had applied for asylum in France, stating he was a Syrian Christian.

France TV station BFM TV said it had spoked with the suspect’s wife who said he had not shown a propensity to violence.

“He does not call me for four months. (Our relationship) stopped because we lived in Sweden and he did not want to live in Sweden anymore.”

Three children were taken to hospital in a critical condition. Picture: Gregory Yetchmeniza/EPA/AAP

“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.”

Meanwhile another person told the platform they had seen the man wondering around the park before.

“He was there every morning, from morning to night and everyone had spotted him a little because he was all alone,” they said.

“We said ‘who was he, he’s weird’, but on the other hand, he said hello to us.”