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| Four children and an adult injured in knife attack in French Alps | Four children and an adult injured in knife attack in French Alps |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| France’s interior minister says attack took place in a square in the town of Annecy | France’s interior minister says attack took place in a square in the town of Annecy |
| Four children and an adult have been injured in a knife attack in the picturesque town of Annecy in the French Alps. | Four children and an adult have been injured in a knife attack in the picturesque town of Annecy in the French Alps. |
| At least three of the victims are in a critical condition in hospital. A British national was among the children injured, the UK foreign minister James Cleverly said. | At least three of the victims are in a critical condition in hospital. A British national was among the children injured, the UK foreign minister James Cleverly said. |
| At about 9.45am, a man armed with a knife entered a children’s playground near the town’s famous lake and attacked a group of children aged about three years old - including one in a pushchair - as they played, a security source and a local official told AFP. | |
| The French president, Emmanuel Macron, tweeted that it was an act of “absolute cowardice” and that the nation was in shock. | The French president, Emmanuel Macron, tweeted that it was an act of “absolute cowardice” and that the nation was in shock. |
| Attaque d’une lâcheté absolue ce matin dans un parc à Annecy. Des enfants et un adulte sont entre la vie et la mort. La Nation est sous le choc. Nos pensées les accompagnent ainsi que leurs familles et les secours mobilisés. | Attaque d’une lâcheté absolue ce matin dans un parc à Annecy. Des enfants et un adulte sont entre la vie et la mort. La Nation est sous le choc. Nos pensées les accompagnent ainsi que leurs familles et les secours mobilisés. |
| Witnesses described the suspected knifeman running around in a frenzy, apparently attacking people at random, before he was stopped by police near the banks of Lake Annecy. | Witnesses described the suspected knifeman running around in a frenzy, apparently attacking people at random, before he was stopped by police near the banks of Lake Annecy. |
| Cleverly, who was speaking at an OECD ministerial council press conference in France, cleverly called the attacks a “terrible act of violence” and said the British government was ready to support the French authorities in whatever way they could. | |
| “We are also aware that one of the people, one of the children injured, was a British national,” he said. “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.” | |
| The former Liverpool footballer Anthony Le Tallec, who has also played for FC Annecy, was out running near the lake at the time of the attack. He described suddenly seeing dozens of people running towards him, a mother shouting: “Run, someone is stabbing everyone, he’s stabbing children!” | The former Liverpool footballer Anthony Le Tallec, who has also played for FC Annecy, was out running near the lake at the time of the attack. He described suddenly seeing dozens of people running towards him, a mother shouting: “Run, someone is stabbing everyone, he’s stabbing children!” |
| Le Tallec, 38, said on instagram and in later French media interviews, that he was surprised but kept running, then saw the attacker running followed by police chasing him, trying to catch him. Le Tallec said he saw the attacker then rush towards a group of elderly people where he stabbed an old man twice. Le Tallec said he had shouted at the police to shoot the man. | Le Tallec, 38, said on instagram and in later French media interviews, that he was surprised but kept running, then saw the attacker running followed by police chasing him, trying to catch him. Le Tallec said he saw the attacker then rush towards a group of elderly people where he stabbed an old man twice. Le Tallec said he had shouted at the police to shoot the man. |
| Le Tallec said that shortly after, he continued his run. “And then I saw, in the distance, children on the ground. It’s incredible.” | Le Tallec said that shortly after, he continued his run. “And then I saw, in the distance, children on the ground. It’s incredible.” |
| Another witness, Malo, told BFMTV that the culprit attacked the children before targeting an old man and was “shouting, but it wasn’t really comprehensible”. | Another witness, Malo, told BFMTV that the culprit attacked the children before targeting an old man and was “shouting, but it wasn’t really comprehensible”. |
| Another witness told local public radio, France Bleu, that the attacker had seem “confused”. | Another witness told local public radio, France Bleu, that the attacker had seem “confused”. |
| One witness, named as Nelly, told France Info radio: “People were running, crying, panicking … it was horrible.” | One witness, named as Nelly, told France Info radio: “People were running, crying, panicking … it was horrible.” |
| The Haute-Savoie MP, Virginie Duby-Muller, told BFMTV: “I’m horrified … attacking children is abominable. It’s unthinkable what happened here this morning in a place which is so calm and peaceful, a place loved by residents and tourists alike. We’re shaken.” | The Haute-Savoie MP, Virginie Duby-Muller, told BFMTV: “I’m horrified … attacking children is abominable. It’s unthinkable what happened here this morning in a place which is so calm and peaceful, a place loved by residents and tourists alike. We’re shaken.” |
| National police, rather than anti-terrorist investigators, are heading the investigation. Police originally said six children had been injured. | National police, rather than anti-terrorist investigators, are heading the investigation. Police originally said six children had been injured. |
| The French interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, tweeted that the suspect “has been arrested thanks to the rapid reaction of security forces”. | The French interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, tweeted that the suspect “has been arrested thanks to the rapid reaction of security forces”. |
| “Several people including children have been injured by an individual armed with a knife in a square in Annecy,” he tweeted. | “Several people including children have been injured by an individual armed with a knife in a square in Annecy,” he tweeted. |
| The suspect was a Syrian man in his early 30s who was granted refugee status in Sweden in April, a police source told AFP. Checks on the man, who was arrested at the scene, were ongoing, but he was unknown to French security services, the police source said. | The suspect was a Syrian man in his early 30s who was granted refugee status in Sweden in April, a police source told AFP. Checks on the man, who was arrested at the scene, were ongoing, but he was unknown to French security services, the police source said. |
| The prime minister, Élisabeth Borne, travelled to the scene alongside Darmanin. MPs in the national parliament held a minute’s silence as news of the attack broke in the French media. | The prime minister, Élisabeth Borne, travelled to the scene alongside Darmanin. MPs in the national parliament held a minute’s silence as news of the attack broke in the French media. |