France knife attack suspect charged with attempted murder

The Syrian refugee detained in the stabbing of six people, including four young children, in the French Alpine town of Annecy has been charged with “attempted murder”, a prosecutor said Saturday.

The suspect, named as Abdalmasih H, was taken into custody after going on a stabbing rampage on Thursday at a playground in the Alpine town of Annecy, a normally idyllic lakeside spot popular with tourists.

The motivation of the playground attack remains unclear.

Abdalmasih H. “did not wish to speak” during his 48 hours in police custody nor before the magistrates leading the investigation, public prosecutor Line Bonnet-Mathis told a press conference.

After two psychiatric evaluations, Abdalmasih H. was deemed “compatible with police custody”, she said, adding that doctors had determined he did not suffer from delusions.

However, she added that it was too early to diagnose or rule out other psychological pathologies at this stage.

Witnesses described the assailant running around the park on the banks of Lake Annecy wearing a bandana and sunglasses, apparently attacking people at random.

The victims of the attack were no longer in a life-threatening condition, Bonnet-Mathis said.

The children, aged between 22 months and three years, were initially hospitalised in a serious condition, while one adult was also seriously wounded and another lightly hurt.