Syrian refugee who stabbed British child and five others in Annecy knife attack was denied asylum in France
A Syrian refugee who stabbed six people, including four young children in Annecy, southeast France, was denied asylum in the country last month.
The suspect, who has been named as Abdalmasih H by French media, had his asylum request rejected because he has held refugee status in Sweden for the past 10 years.
French authorities rejected the request on 26 April but the suspect only learned of the decision on 4 June, French broadcaster BFMTV said.
The 31-year-old was arrested in connection with the attack at a lakeside park in which four children – two aged two, one aged three and a 22-month-old – suffered “life-threatening injuries”.
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What do we know about the Annecy knife attacker?
The Annecy attacker is a Syrian national, police say
Pic: AP
French soldiers secure the area
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly confirmed that one of the youngsters is British.
Two of the children were earlier reported as a brother and sister but BFMTV now report they are cousins.
The local prosecutor said another of the children is Dutch. However, Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz said they were German.
Two adult men were also injured, one of whom was injured with the knife and by a shot fired by police as they were making the arrest.
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Knife attack ‘happened in front of my kids’
President Emmanuel Macron said those badly hurt in a park were “between life and death”.
Earlier, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the 31-year-old had entered France legally and was not known to security agencies.
The suspect also applied for asylum in Switzerland, Italy and France, which Mr Darmanin said he “didn’t need to do as he already had asylum in Sweden”.
He carried Swedish identity documents and a Swedish driving licence, a police spokesman said.
Prosecutor Line Bonnet-Mathis said the suspect’s motives were unknown but there was “no apparent terrorist motive” at this stage in the investigation.
There is no intelligence on the suspect and no psychiatric report, and he has no fixed abode, Ms Bonnet-Mathis said.
Mr Darmanin said he had certain “Christian religious insignia” on him during the incident.
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Multiple children injured in knife attack
He is married to a Swedish woman and they have a three-year-old child who was born in Sweden, BFMTV reported.
The couple separated eight months ago and his wife has apparently not heard from him for four months.
He and his wife were studying together to be nurses, BFMTV said.
Video footage of the incident shows the man appears to shout “on name of Jesus Christ” as he waved his knife in the air, while two members of the public tried to apprehend him.
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Cleverly: UK stands in ‘strong solidarity with France’
A man who spoke to broadcaster BFMTV said he saw first aiders working on “little bodies, three or four years old, perhaps”.
A witness who gave his name as Ferdinand told BFMTV: “He (the attacker) jumped (in the playground), started shouting and then went towards the strollers [prams], repeatedly hitting the little ones with a knife.”
“Mothers were crying, everybody was running,” said George, who owns a nearby restaurant.
A further witness said he saw the attacker assault an elderly man, jumping on him and stabbing him repeatedly. He said he yelled at police to act.
“It’s a place where babysitters and parents take young children to play, and the atmosphere is fantastic,” said Yohan, who works at an ice cream parlour just opposite the park.
Former Liverpool footballer, Anthony Le Tallec, said he was jogging around Lake Annecy when he saw the incident unfold.
He commented: “I see that he’s [the attacker] heading straight for a group of elderly men and women.
“He attacks one grandpa, stabs him once, the cops can’t catch him, so I tell the cops, ‘shoot him’.
“Then they start shooting, they shoot at the person, right in front of me, and he falls to the ground.”
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said it was a “heinous, unspeakable act” and the whole country is in “shock”.
“Of course, all light will have to be shed. But today is the time for emotion,” she said during a press conference.
There is “nothing more abominable than to attack children”, French national assembly speaker Yael Braun-Pivet said.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “The UK and France have always stood together against acts of violence, and we do so again today.”
Speaking during a press conference with US President Joe Biden, Mr Sunak said he has been in touch with President Macron and is “ready to offer any assistance we can”.
In Paris, politicians interrupted a debate to hold a moment of silence for the victims.
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Minute silence held for Annecy victims
Francois Astorg, the mayor of Annecy, urged people to avoid the Paquier area of the French alpine town and said his thoughts were with the victims and their families.
In mid-May, the World Health Organisation assessed that there were “nearly half a million people in a catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness and death”.
“This is one of the world’s worst hunger crises, unfolding in real time,” its report concluded.
Warning: This article contains images of an emaciated child which some readers may find distressing
Israel‘s decision this week to reverse the siege and allow “a basic level of aid” into Gaza should help ease the immediate crisis.
But the number of aid trucks getting in, so far fewer than 100 per day, is considered dramatically too few by aid organisations working in Gaza, and the United Nations accuses Israel of continuing to block vital items.
Israel-Gaza latest: Gaza enduring ‘atrocious death and destruction’, UN boss warns
“Strict quotas are being imposed on the goods we distribute, along with unnecessary delay procedures,” said UN secretary general Antonio Guterres in New York on Friday.
“Essentials, including fuel, shelter, cooking gas and water purification supplies, are prohibited. Nothing has reached the besieged north.”
Nineteen of Gaza’s hospitals remain operational, all of them are overwhelmed with the number of patients and a lack of supplies.
Baby Aya at Rantisi hospital in northern Gaza is dangerously thin
“Today, we receive between 300 to 500 cases daily, with approximately 10% requiring admission. This volume of inpatient cases far exceeds the capacity of Rantisi hospital, as the facility is not equipped to accommodate such large numbers,” Jall al Barawi, a doctor at the hospital, told us.
At least 94% of the hospitals have sustained some damage, some considerable, according to the UN.
Jall al Barawi, a doctor at Rantisi hospital
Paramedic crews are close to running out of fuel to drive ambulances.
The lack of food, after an 11-week blockade, has left thousands malnourished and increasingly vulnerable to surviving injuries or recovering from other conditions.
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Children are the worst affected.
Our team in Gaza filmed with baby Aya at the Rantisi hospital in northern Gaza. She is now three months old and dangerously thin.
Her skin stretches over her cheekbones and eye sockets on her gaunt, pale face. Her nappy is too big for her emaciated little body.
Aya’s nappy is too big for her emaciated little body.
Lethal spiral
Her mother Sundush, who is only 19 herself, cannot get enough food to produce breastmilk. Baby formula is scarce.
Aya, like so many other young children, cannot get the vital nutrition she needs to grow and develop.
It’s a lethal spiral.
This is what Aya looked like shortly after she was born
“My daughter was born at a normal weight, 3.5kg,” Sundush tells us.
“But as the war went on, her weight dropped significantly. I would breastfeed her, she’d get diarrhoea. I tried formula – same result. With the borders closed and no food coming in, I can’t eat enough to give her the nutrients she needs.”
“I brought her to the hospital for treatment, but the care she needs isn’t available.
“The doctor said her condition is very serious. I really don’t want to lose her, because I lost my husband and she’s all I have left of him. I don’t want to lose her.”
Read more:
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Aya and her mother Sundush
Some of the aid entering Gaza now is being looted. It is hard to know whether that is by Hamas or desperate civilians. Maybe a combination of the two.
The lack of aid creates an atmosphere of desperation, which eventually leads to a breakdown in security as everyone fights to secure food for themselves and their families.
Only by alleviating the desperation can the security situation improve, and the risk of famine abate.
World
Police launch ‘major operation’ after 12 people injured in knife attack at Hamburg train station
Twelve people are reported to have been injured after a knife attack at Hamburg’s central train station.
A “major operation” has been launched and a suspect was arrested, police said in a post on X.
The identity of the suspect has not been revealed.
Reports in Germany said the suspected attacker was a woman.
The fire service said six of the injured were in a life-threatening condition, three others were seriously hurt, and another three sustained minor injuries, news agency dpa reported.
Bild newspaper said the motive for the attack was so far unknown.
Hamburg is Germany’s second biggest city, with the train station being a hub for local, regional and long-distance trains.
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The man suspected of shooting dead two Israeli embassy workers in Washington DC leaned over and fired at them repeatedly after they fell to the ground, the FBI has said.
Elias Rodriguez, 31, has been charged with murdering Sarah Milgrim and her boyfriend Yaron Lischinsky, after they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday night.
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Footage has showed Rodriguez, from Chicago, chanting “free, free Palestine” as he was arrested.
It later emerged Mr Lischinsky had bought a ring and planned to propose to Ms Milgrim.
Authorities are investigating the killings as both a hate crime against the Jewish community and terrorism.
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Shootings suspect shouts ‘free Palestine!’
‘I did it for Gaza’
It comes as the FBI has said in a charging document on Thursday that surveillance footage shows how Ms Milgrim and Mr Lischinsky died.
Rodriguez is allegedly seen passing the couple after they left the museum before shooting them in the back.
The FBI says the footage then shows him leaning over the couple and firing at them several more times after they fell to the ground.
The video then shows Ms Milgrim attempting to crawl away before “(Rodriguez) followed behind her and fired again”, the charging document says.
The suspected gunman is then accused of reloading his weapon and firing at Ms Milgrim as she sat up.
According to the charging document, Rodriguez then jogged to the museum and once inside asked to speak to a police officer before stating that he “did it” and that he was unarmed.
He is then said to have told police: “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza, I am unarmed.”
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DC shooting: Father pays tribute to ‘perfect’ daughter
Suspect ‘expressed admiration’ for fatal protest
The court document also states that 21 expended 9mm bullet cases were found at the scene and the gun was slide-locked – meaning it was empty of ammunition.
An empty gun magazine was also recovered from the scene.
The FBI says it has obtained travel records which show Rodriguez flew from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to the Reagan National in Washington DC on Tuesday with the gun in his checked baggage.
Rodriguez had bought the weapon in the state of Illinois on 6 March 2020, according to the charging document.
The FBI has said that while Rodriguez was in custody he “expressed admiration” for a US Air Force member who set himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington DC on 25 February 2024.
Aaron Bushnell died in the apparent act of protest against the war in Gaza.
Rodriguez also told police he bought a ticket to the museum around three hours before the event that was attended by Ms Milgrim and Mr Lischinsky.
Read more:
Why Trump will worry about attacker being glorified
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Starmer ‘on wrong side of history’
During a brief court appearance at the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington DC today, Rodriguez was charged with two counts of first degree murder and with the murder of foreign officials.
He has also been charged with causing the death of a person through the use of a firearm and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.
Rodriguez was told he could face life in prison or the death penalty if he is found guilty.
He remained calm throughout the hearing, paying attention to the proceedings throughout and confirmed that he is asking the court to appoint an attorney on his behalf.
He will next appear at a federal court in Washington DC on 18 June.
Murdered couple ‘were perfect for each other’
Meanwhile, Ms Milgrim’s father, Robert, says he feared his daughter might be in danger when he saw news alerts of a fatal shooting in Washington DC.
Ms Milgrim’s mother Nancy opened a phone locator app and saw Ms Milgrim was at the Capital Jewish Museum.
“Shortly after that, the Israeli ambassador called us on my wife’s phone,” Mr Milgrim told Sky News’ partner network NBC News, fighting back tears.
He added that it was the ambassador who told them Mr Lischinksy had bought a ring and was planning to propose to Ms Milgrim.
“They were perfect for each other, he said.
Mr Milgrim continued: “They just brought us joy, and her memory, which is a blessing, will continue to bring us joy – but it’s not the same as her not being here.”
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