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Mourning in Annecy: no new information on the health status of the injured children
Photo: OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE / AFP
After a man's knife attack on four children and two adults on a playground in Annecy, France, investigators continue their search for the perpetrator's motive. The attacker, who was overwhelmed and arrested by police officers on Thursday, was questioned in the evening, prosecutor Line Bonnet-Mathis said. In any case, the perpetrator was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs. "We're trying to understand his motive." However, according to the authorities, there were no indications of a terrorist motive.
As the newspaper "Le Parisien" reported, the man was to be psychiatrically examined on Friday. In police custody, he suffered a severe hysterical attack.
Only a few months ago in France
Initially, there was no new status on the state of health of the seriously injured victims. The four injured children, aged 22 months to 3 years, had been taken to clinics in Geneva and Grenoble. Two of them were a pair of French siblings, the others were on a holiday trip and are from the UK and the Netherlands.
It is known that the alleged perpetrator has only been in France for a few months. Previously, the Syrian had lived in Sweden for ten years, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne had said. In France, he had no permanent residence. For the European security authorities, the man is an unknown, there is nothing about him. There is also no evidence of psychiatric treatment in the past.
Although the man was recognized as an asylum seeker in Sweden, he had also applied for asylum in France last year. As the broadcaster BFMTV reported, this asylum application was rejected four days ago. Whether this could have something to do with the crime is an open question.
Ban on demonstrations in Annecy
The act caused shock in France, but was promptly instrumentalized by the right and extreme right for the demand for a limitation of immigration. In view of announced rallies under right-wing auspices, the prefect issued a ban on demonstrations in Annecy on Thursday. Announced rallies under the slogan of "Francocide", the killing of French people by foreigners, propagated by the extreme right, could be seen as a provocation, said Prefect Yves le Breton. These could lead to counter-demonstrations and public violence.
According to media reports, the attacker was married to a woman in Sweden and has a three-year-old daughter – his wife and he had recently separated. Both had completed online training in nursing.
SWE/DPA