Published: Less than 30 min ago
A 31-year-old man is charged with stabbing four children and two adults in a playground in Annecy, France.
The man has previously lived in Sweden but was denied citizenship.
Four days before the attack, he was refused in France because he already has asylum in Sweden.
On Thursday morning just before 10 a.m., a man went on the attack in a playground in the French alpine town of Annecy. Four children between the ages of one and three were seriously injured in the attack. Among the injured were also two adults.
On Saturday, charges were brought against the 31-year-old. At a press conference, Chief Prosecutor Line Bonnet-Mathis was able to provide more details about the incident.
The children and a 75-year-old are currently being treated in hospital. None of the victims have any more life-threatening injuries, according to the French prosecutor Line Bonnet-Mathis.
The man was arrested on the spot on suspicion of attempted murder. He had on him a Swedish driver’s license480 euros and a Christian crucifix. According to testimony he is said to have shouted the names of “his wife, daughter and Jesus” during the attack.
After a medical examination, the man’s alcohol and drug tests were shown to be negative, and he is also not said to have suffered from mental delusions.
But to rule out mental illness is still too early, according to French prosecutor Line Bonnet-Mathis.
No terrorist motive is currently suspected and the investigation will focus on the man’s environment, background and personality.
Participated in the Syrian army
The man, who is a Syrian citizen, came to Sweden together with his ex-wife in 2013 after leaving Syria for Turkey a year earlier. A couple of months later, he was granted a residence and work permit in Sweden.
In Sweden, he was sentenced last year for contribution violations to a suspended sentence and daily fines. He then received an A-kassa and student grant at the same time as he was studying. According to the district court’s verdict, he must have lived an “orderly existence”.
Swedish government documents show that he applied for citizenship several times. All have been rejected.
The later applications were rejected by the Migration Agency because the man had been involved in the Syrian army between 2011-2012, which “repeatedly and systematically committed war crimes”.
There he should have been leading roles as group commander and “guardian”. According to TV4, he has, according to his own statement, “been armed and participated in battles during this period.”
The mother: “Been depressed”
Unlike the man’s ex-wife, the man has not received Swedish citizenship. In an interview with AFP, she says that he left Sweden shortly after the last rejection “eight months ago”.
After he left Sweden, according to French Le Monde, he must have applied for asylum in Switzerland and Italy before coming to France at the end of October 2022. There he must have lived homeless. In conversation with his ex-wife four months ago, he is said to have lived in a church.
Four days before the attack, he was denied French asylum because he already has asylum status in Sweden, according to the prosecutor. When asked if the rejections were connected to the crime, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, replied on Friday that it was a “disturbing coincidence”.
The man’s mother, who spoke to French AFP, states that he suffered from “severe depression” which is said to have worsened due to the difficulties in obtaining Swedish citizenship.
“My daughter-in-law said he was never well, always with dark thoughts. Refused to work or go out,” the mother told AFP.