France stabbing – latest: Annecy locals attend mass as Mayor says injured children are ‘stable’
Father Didier Milani and Bishop Yves Le Saux were pictured hosting the packed service in Annecy on Friday
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Locals have attended a mass for the victims of an “unfathomable” knife attack at a lakeside playpark in southeastern France.
Father Didier Milani and Bishop Yves Le Saux were pictured hosting the service in Annecy on Friday, one day after the incident in which four young children and two pensioners were injured, to a church packed full of people praying for the victims.
On Friday afternoon the Mayor of Annecy said he was “confident” about the condition of the children involved in the attack.
Francois Astorg told reporters close to the scene: “The children are stable right now, the adults are much better.”
A suspect has been arrested and identified as a 31-year-old Syrian refugee, who authorities say had been refused asylum in France days earlier, as he had been granted refugee status in Sweden earlier this year.
Well-wishers continued to visit the park on Friday morning to lay flowers and other tributes for those injured in the attack. The children are between 22 months and three years old.
‘Agitated’ suspect’s police custody extended
Police have extended the custody of the suspect held over the knife attack in Annecy yesterday, local prosecutors have said.
Local broadcaster BFM TV quoted a source close to the investigation as saying the suspect was “very agitated”, had made incoherent remarks and rolled on the ground several times, but that his condition was considered compatible with police custody.
‘You are an angel’: France hails ‘backpack hero’
The young pilgrim who attempted to stop the knifeman’s attack on Thursday is being hailed across the country as “the backpack hero”, with some people calling for him to be awarded France’s highest order of merit, the Legion of Honour.
Named only as Henri, the 24-year-old philosophy student came face-to-face with the attacker while making a months-long walking pilgrimage of France’s cathedrals.
“All I know is I was not there by chance,” he told the CNews television network. “It was unthinkable to do nothing ... I followed my instincts and did what I could to protect the weak.”
You can read more details here:
France hails ‘backpack hero’ who confronted knifeman in ‘unspeakable’ Annecy attack
Calls for student on a nine-month cathedral pilgrimage to be awarded Legion of Honour after ‘incredible’ bravery
Two adults caught up in attack are pensioners, French PM says
The two adults caught up in the attack were both pensioners, French prime minister Elisabeth Borne has said.
According to the Telegraph, the man stabbed six times and accidentally shot by police was 78 years old.
Two of the children are in a critical but stable condition in hospital this morning, Ms Borne told reporters, while the others are said to have less serious injuries.
One of the two pensioners caught up in the attack told Reuters he had been sitting on a park bench when the attacker approached on the run.
“He probably wanted to create one more victim,” said Youssouf, who asked to withhold his family name.
Mass to be held at Annecy Cathedral
A mass will be held in Annecy Cathedral in tribute to the victims and their families later on Friday, church authorities have said.
Man stabbed six times and shot by police is 78, report claims
The man who was stabbed six times and accidentally shot by police is a 78-year-old, who is now in a life-threatening condition in hospital, according to the Daily Telegraph.
The knifeman is also reported to have been shot in the leg.
Macron arrives at hospital in Grenoble where young victims are being treated
In the first stop of their visit to the region, French president Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte have arrived at a hospital in the city of Grenoble, where most of the children caught up in the attack are being treated.
First firefighters arrived at scene four minutes after alert was raised, says fire chief
A total of 69 firefighters were mobilised in response to Thursday’s attack, with the first fire engine arriving four minutes after the alert was triggered, local fire chief Martial Saddier told BFM TV.
He told the broadcaster that he was driving in his car to Annecy on Thursday morning when he received an emergency message: “Code red, mass killing.”
France hails 24-year-old ‘backpack hero'
The young man who attempted to stop the knifeman in Thursday’s attack is being hailed in France as “the backpack hero”, and reportedly is set to meet president Emmanuel Macron.
Henri, a 24-year old management and philosophy student, is reported to be a Catholic pilgrim on a walking tour of cathedrals who came face to face with the man who stabbed several children in a park in Annecy.
Footage shows him trying to block the assailant with one of his two backpacks, pursuing the man into the playground and throwing one of his bags at the attacker, after spotting the knifeman attacking children in a stroller as their mother desperately tried to shield them.
He is then seen pursuing the assailant across the wide expanse of the Le Paquier grasslands, dropping one of his backpacks to run faster, as police also start giving chase.
So far, most of France only knows him by the first and only name given on his social media, on which his only public comment so far is the message: “Pray for the children, I am ok.”
French media have called him “héros au sac à dos”, translating to the backpack hero, and his Facebook and Instagram accounts have been flooded with messages giving thanks for his actions.
“May God bless you ... you did what you could at that moment, you did not give up, you did not run. You are an angel,” Instagram user Mag Capone wrote on his site.
Psychiatrists evaluating suspect
Psychiatrists are evaluating the 31-year-old Syrian refugee suspected of carrying out Thursday’s attackgovernment spokesman Olivier Veran has told reporters.
The attacker's motives were unknown but did not appear to be terrorism-related, according to lead prosecutor Line Bonnet-Mathis.
He was armed with a folding knife, Ms Bonnet-Mathis said.
Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron to visit Annecy today
French president Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte will visit Annecy today.
The couple are traveling together to comfort victims wounded in Thursday’s attack, meet their families and those who came to their aid, the president’s office said.
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