A British child is among four wounded in a knife attack in a playground in France that left at least two children and one adult with life-threatening injuries.
A man armed with a knife is believed to have entered a children’s playground in a park near a renowned lake in the town of Annecy in the French Alps.
Bystanders screamed for help as the attacker brandished his weapon, and it’s thought one man tried to tackle him.
Police at the scene of the attack in the French alps
(AP)
Police who rushed to the scene opened fire, and French interior minister Gerald Darmanin said the suspected attacker had been arrested.
President Emmanuel Macron called the attack an act of “absolute cowardice” and said the “nation is in shock”.
One of the injured children was in a pushchair, according to witnesses, and adults were also attacked.
Foreign secretary James Cleverly confirmed the nationality.
Mr Cleverly said: “One of the … children injured was a British national. We have already deployed British consular officials to … support the family.”
Forensics officers investigate at the scene
(AP)
“Our thoughts are with the victims and the families and we stand ready to support the French authorities in whichever way we can.”
The suspect is a 31-year-old Syrian asylum-seeker, police said. He had no history of convictions, nor mental health conditions, prosecutors said.
French TV said he had been separated from his wife, a Swiss woman, and they were both training as nurses.
Footage on social media showed a man in dark glasses and with a blue scarf covering his head brandishing a blade as people screamed for help.
People around could be heard yelling: “Police! Police!”
He slashed at a man carrying rucksacks who tried to approach him, seemingly trying to stop the attack, the video suggests.
An inquiry into what happened has begun, authorities say. And a second inquiry is under way into why police used a firearm.
French prime minister Elisabeth Borne said the attacker had no fixed abode and was a refugee in Sweden, which allowed him to travel in Europe, and he had requested asylum in France.
One child was Dutch and one was English, she said.
It was incredibly shocking, she said.
An inquiry must take place before looking at questions over the man’s refugee status, she added.
The children injured were a 22-month-old; two two-year-olds a three-year-old.
A French victims’ association was supporting people who had been at the scene.
More follows on this breaking news story….