A horrific video captured a Syrian refugee engaging in a series of stabbings in a French playground, targeting both adults and children, including a toddler in a stroller.
The distressing 90-second clip, shared online, shows the assailant repeatedly attacking individuals in the scenic town of Annecy in the French Alps.
The incident resulted in at least six people being injured, with four children under the age of five fighting for their lives.
The police identified the perpetrator as a 31-year-old Syrian national with legal refugee status in France.
President Emmanuel Macron condemned the attack as "an act of absolute cowardice." The footage begins with the suspect, dressed in black, swiftly leaving the play area of Le Paquiet Park as piercing screams fill the surroundings.
"Jesus Christ!" a male voice yells in English, as the bearded suspect — in shorts and a blue headscarf — seems to calmly play with a chain around his neck while brandishing his knife.
A woman bravely attempts to push two young children in a double stroller while the stabber moves erratically in the vicinity. Suddenly, he targets a nearby man who valiantly tries to subdue him by swinging a bag.
The courageous bystander continues to pursue the assailant, urgently calling for the police. In a desperate attempt to escape, the attacker retreats into the play area, effortlessly vaulting over a low wall.
He then charges directly towards the terrified woman who is pushing the double stroller. Despite the perilous situation, she confronts the attacker, shouting in English, "Get away!" as she positions herself between him and the stroller, New York Post reported.
Despite the hesitant attempts of others to intervene, the deranged attacker repeatedly circles back past the stroller, leaning over it and relentlessly stabbing downward. The horrifying scene unfolds multiple times, accompanied by the heart-wrenching cries of at least one terrified young child.
Amidst the chaos, someone urgently shouts, "Police! Police!" as the courageous individual with the bags persists in trying to intervene. The video concludes with the assailant exiting the play area and proceeding towards a grassy field.
Additional videos captured the individual with the bag persistently pursuing the suspect, ultimately leading to the suspect being overpowered and apprehended by the police.
In a subsequent statement, lead prosecutor Line Bonnet-Mathis revealed that four children, ranging from 22 months to 3 years old, sustained life-threatening injuries.
Additionally, two adults sustained injuries in the incident. While none of the victims were immediately identified, authorities stated that at least two of the injured children were tourists, including a British citizen.
Witnesses corroborated that one of the individuals stabbed was indeed in a stroller.
"He jumped (in the playground), started shouting, and then went towards the strollers, repeatedly hitting the little ones with a knife," a witness who gave his name as Ferdinand told BFM TV.
"He wanted to attack everyone," former professional soccer player Anthony Le Tallec, who was running in the park, told Dauphine Libere.
"I moved away, and he lunged at an old man and woman and stabbed the old man."
Another witness, named Malo, told BFM that the attacker had been "shouting, but it wasn't really comprehensible."
A vendor who sells ice cream in the waterfront park reported having seen the assailant there a few days prior to the incident.
Lead prosecutor Bonnet-Mathis stated that the motive behind the attack remains unclear, emphasizing that it does not appear to be related to terrorism.
The assailant, a 31-year-old Syrian national, had obtained refugee status in Sweden before entering France legally. According to the police, he was not previously known to security agencies.
During a debate in Paris, lawmakers paused and interrupted proceedings to observe a moment of silence in honor of the victims.
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