A man suspected of stabbing four young children in a playground in the French resort of Annecy is held on attempted murder charges, French prosecutors say. The children, aged between one and three, were attacked with a knife in a park in the Alpine region on Thursday. Prosecutors said the actions of Syrian-born Abdelmasih Hanoun, who they referred to as Abdelmasih H, did not appear linked to terrorism. The suspect, 31, remained silent in police interviews, prosecutors said. He has been taken before a judge, formally placed under investigation for attempted murder, and will remain in custody. Local prosecutor Lise Bonnet-Mathis said during a press conference that the suspect had been assessed by a psychiatrist while in custody, and had been determined fit to appear before a court. She added that it was too early to make any kind of conclusion regarding his mental state. The brutal attack on victims so young — its horror captured on video — has shocked France. Footage uploaded to social media showed people screaming soon after a man holding a knife entered a playground next to a lake in Annecy. He then fled the scene and stabbed an elderly man nearby. Police intervened and the attacker was shot in the legs. President Emmanuel Macron described it as an "act of cowardice" and traveled to the south-eastern region on Friday to visit victims and their families in hospital. The attack has also fueled further fierce debate about immigration policy in France, after it was found that the suspect has refugee status in Sweden and had also unsuccessfully been seeking asylum in France, Italy and Switzerland. Bonnet-Mathis said the four children — including a British girl who was on holiday with her parents in Annecy — were no longer in critical conditions in hospital. The British girl was stabbed once by the attacker and was gravely wounded but did not sustain life-threatening injuries, Bonnet-Mathis said. Two of the other children were French nationals from the eastern region of Haute-Savoie, she added. The other was a Dutch national who has been transferred to a hospital in Geneva for treatment. Two adults who were also injured during the attack are also out of danger. One of the adults, who was first stabbed by the attacker, was hit by a police bullet while officers were attempting to stop the assailant, the prosecutor confirmed. The other adult, Youssouf, 78, suffered a minor injury. Youssouf, 78, says there was no reason for the attack The knifeman's motivation remains unclear. Officials are referring to the suspect as Abdelmasih H but his full surname is widely reported. Witnesses said that during the incident the attacker invoked the name of Jesus Christ. And in an unsuccessful asylum application last year for refugee status in France, he said he was a Syrian Christian. He had recently come to France after leaving behind a wife and three-year-old daughter in Sweden — where he has refugee status. French television broadcast pictures of the suspect being moved from the police station, ahead of his appearance before a judge. BFM images showed the suspect being carried on a stretcher to a black car at the rear of the police station, and then a convoy of vehicles leaving the area. — BBC
