By Iona Cleave
THE knifeman who stabbed four kids in a French playground was recently divorced and has a child the same age as his victims, it is understood.
The 31-year-old attacker, identified as Abdalmasih H, launched his “abominable” rampage in a park in Annecy this morning before being slammed to the ground by cops.
Horrifying footage shows the knife-wielding man rampaging through the playground as a woman tries to shield her child[/caption]
Abdalmasih had recently divorced his wife and had a child the same age as his victims[/caption]
Two children and an adult are fighting for their lives in intensive care[/caption]
The knifeman stabbed four young children aged between one and three, including a British girl in a barbaric attack in the Alpine holiday hotspot today.
Abdalmasih H is a Syrian asylum seeker, who had been living in Sweden for ten years before travelling to France last year.
He was not known to security agencies and French prosecutors said they do not believe he has a “terrorist motive”.
French Prime Minister France Élisabeth Borne has revealed that the attacker has a child who is the same age as his toddler victims.
She also explained Abdalmasih appeared to have acted alone and has no criminal or psychiatric record.
Security sources and his ex-wife have confirmed to The Mail that he was recently divorced and was granted refugee status from Sweden in April.
He had allegedly been rejected from asylum in France only four days before he launched his wild stabbing rampage.
Responding to the bloodbath, Borne said: “Our whole country is in shock.”
“We are talking here about infants, very young infants who have been very seriously injured,” she told the press conference.
“We are absolutely shaken by all this and we are standing firm by the people of Annecy.”
Terrifying footage captures the maniac stalking the busy park near Lake Annecy before lunging at the kids in front of terrified parents before being chased down by police.
The frenzied attack left two children and an adult fighting for their lives in intensive care while another two children are slightly hurt, cops said.
One of the victims is aged 22 months, two are two years old, and one is three years old.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly confirmed one of the stabbed children was a British national and the three-year-old was reportedly rushed to hospital after the attack.
Two of the other victims are French and one of the children is Dutch.
Abdalmasih, originally from northeastern Syria, had recently divorced his wife, 26, who he was living with in Sweden.
They share a child and separated eight months ago.
Speaking to The Mail, she said: “He called me around four months ago. He was living in a church,” adding that he had been unable to get Swedish nationality.
BFMTV reported that the suspect from Hassake, Syria was “homeless”.
After his third attempt to get citizenship was rejected last year, Abdalmasih is said to have moved to France.
He had applied for asylum in France in November of last year before being rejected four days ago on the grounds that he had already been granted asylum in Sweden.
A shocking video shows the moment the Syrian national was taken down by gun-wielding police after stabbing four preschool children at the French beauty spot.
He had been wearing a dark shirt, carrying a cross and clutching a four inch knife and had been shouting “in the name of Jesus Christ”.
A gun shot is heard but it appears to strike the victim as he crosses the line of fire and subsequently collapses to the ground.
The attacker then lays into the innocent adult before cops pile on top of him and pin him down into the grass.
As the man is handcuffed, he can be heard panting aggressively into the ground as he is restrained, while the stab victim cries out in pain.
Speaking to France Bleu, an eyewitness reported that the man had been going to the playground every day for the past two months.
“He was there every morning, from morning to night and everyone had spotted him a bit because he was all alone.”
A local lawmaker, Antoine Armand, tweeted that children were attacked on a playground and called the attack “abominable.”
French President Emmanuel Macron slammed the stabbing attack as an act “of absolute cowardice.”
“The nation is shocked. Our thoughts are with them as well as their families and the emergency services,” he wrote on Twitter.
François Astorg, the Mayor of Annecy, said: “Appalling attack this morning on the Paquier park in Annecy.
“All my thoughts to the victims and families.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also shared his condolences following the horror attack.
“All our thoughts are with those affected by this unfathomable attack, including a British child and with their families. I’ve been in touch with President Macron we stand ready to offer any assistance that we can,” he said.
Annecy, a lake located in the French Alps, is a popular tourist destination.
Did you witness the attack? Were you in the area? Email: iona.cleave@the-sun.co.uk or worldnews@the-sun.co.uk
Category: News, World News, Children parenting and family life, Crime, Police
