JAKARTA - A Syrian citizen injured four small children and an adult in a knife attack at a park in Annecy City, southeastern France, on Thursday, police said, with several victims in critical condition.
Two children and one adult were in a life-threatening condition, while two children suffered less serious injuries, police said. The injured children were between 22 months and 3 years old, they said.
One of the children injured was a British citizen, British Foreign Minister James Cleanly said.
"Children and one adult are in between life and death. The nation is very shocked," French President Emmanuel Macron said on Twitter, calling the attack a "surprisant act".
Witnesses said at least one of the injured children was on the stroller. The incident occurred at around 07.45 GMT in a beautiful lakeside playground in Annecy, a town in the Alps, France.
"He jumped (in the playground), started screaming and then went towards the baby train, repeatedly hitting small children with knives," a witness who mentioned his name Ferdinand to BFM TV.
"He's definitely after the babies," he said.
"The mothers were crying, everyone was running around," said George, owner of a nearby restaurant.
Several eyewitnesses described Taman Le Paquier, where the attack occurred, as a place that is usually calm and popular among tourists, because of the view of Lake Annecy and its stunning mountains.
France has been shocked by a number of violent incidents over the past few months, including a fatal stabbing last month of a nurse in Reims City in northern France. In the same month, a drunk driver accidentally killed three policemen.
President Macron himself denounced what he called the "process of withdrawing civilization" in the country, while lawmakers from opposition camps said his government was too lax in terms of law and order.
"Nothing is more heinous than attacking children," National Assembly Speaker Yael Braun-Pivet said on Twitter.
A police spokesman said the perpetrator was a 31-year-old Syrian asylum seeker carrying Swedish identity documents and Swedish driving licenses. He entered France legally and was unknown to security agencies.
The motive was unclear, an investigative source said, adding anti-terrorism authorities had not yet been asked to lead the investigation at this stage.
Meanwhile, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, who traveled to Annecy with Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, wrote on Twitter that the perpetrator had been arrested.
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