A knife-wielding asylum seeker injured at least four children and two adults Thursday in a French town, according to multiple reports and graphic video footage.
The incident unfolded at around 9:45 a.m. local time, when a group of young schoolchildren were on a trip to Lake Annecy in the French Alps, NBC News reported, citing French police. While the children played in Le Paquier, a park near the lake, a 31-year-old Syrian asylum seeker jumped into the playground area and began attacking children and adults, according to Reuters.
Two children were left with life-threatening injuries and another two were slightly hurt, Reuters reported. The injured children are all between the ages of 22 months and three years, according to the report. At least one adult was also severely injured in the attack and sustained life-threatening injuries, according to Reuters. (RELATED: Good Samaritan Pummels Crazy Man Stabbing Ex-Girlfriend In Broad Daylight)
Horrific video footage appears to show the attacker holding a large knife and running through the playground stabbing at people as one woman can be heard screaming. Video appears to show the man try to slash a young child in a stroller as a woman attempts to defend the child. He then seemingly begins to walk out of the playground slowly before a bystander appears to start chasing him as the video ends.
WARNING: Graphic footage
French President Emmanuel Macron called the attack “an act of absolute cowardice” in a tweet Thursday, according to Reuters, adding that “children and one adult are between life and death.”
Attaque d’une lâcheté absolue ce matin dans un parc à Annecy. Des enfants et un adulte sont entre la vie et la mort. La Nation est sous le choc. Nos pensées les accompagnent ainsi que leurs familles et les secours mobilisés.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) June 8, 2023
“The nation is in shock,” Macron wrote.
A motive for the attack remains unclear, Reuters reported.