France: Annecy knife attack suspect charged with "attempted murder"
Jun 10, 2023
Paris [France], June 10 : The man, who was detained in connection with stabbing six people to death in the French alpine town of Annecy, has been charged with "attempted murder" on Saturday, Al Jazeera reported citing the prosecutor.
The people who were stabbed included four children, the youngest one being a 22-month-old.
According to public prosecutor Line Bonnet-Mathis, Abdalmasih H, the suspect "did not wish to speak" during his 48 hours in police custody or in front of the magistrates overseeing the case, reported Al Jazeera.
The Syrian national, age 31, was taken into custody in relation to the attack on Thursday morning. He had lately been denied asylum in France, according to French authorities, because Sweden had already granted him permanent residency and refugee status a decade earlier.
A psychiatrist, who examined him, determined that his health allowed for the possibility of keeping him in custody.
"Presently, it is premature to assess his motivations," Bonnet-Mathis said, reiterating that the assailant's motivations were not known, according to Al Jazeera.
Meanwhile, she also informed that the victims of the brutal knife attack were no longer in a life-threatening condition.
Several people, including children injured in a knife attack in Annecy city of France on Thursday this week, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said in a tweet.
Gerald Darmanin further said the police has detained the attacker. He tweeted, "Several people including children were injured by an armed man with a knife in a square in Annecy. The individual was arrested thanks to the very rapid intervention of the police."
Earlier, in January, several people were injured in a knife attack at the Paris Gare du Nord train station, CNN reported. Police opened fire on a 'dangerous person', who injured travellers at one of Paris' central railway stations, French rail operator Societe Nationale des Chemins de fer Francais (SNCF) tweeted.
Police confirmed that several people were wounded in the attack. Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin confirmed the attack, saying that the suspect was 'neutralised' by the police, reported DW News."
