France: the condition of the injured children improves, prolonged interrogation for the assailant

MISE & Agrave; DAY

The condition of children injured in the knife attack in France, in Annecy, began to improve on Friday, and President Emmanuel Macron hailed the courage of all those who intervened during the tragedy , while the assailant's custody was extended.

The news concerning the state of health of the four children injured on Thursday “is positive”, welcomed the head of state who went there with his wife. Among the injured children, the Dutch girl is “out of danger”, according to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.

Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron visited the families of the three children hospitalized in Grenoble – a fourth was admitted to Geneva – and discussed with the medical staff.

The presidential couple then went to Annecy, first to the hospital and then to the prefecture to meet those who provided “help and support” during the tragedy that shook this peaceful town in the Northern Alps on Thursday.

“You have been great”, launched the Head of State during a ceremony which allowed him to say “his gratitude and his pride” to the police, firefighters, caregivers and witnesses of the tragedy who tried to intervene. .

“Tackling children is the most barbaric act there is,” he said. “There are things that are not digestible. The violence behind these acts is unheard of. We don't have to get used to it”.

Since his arrest, Abdalmasih H. has given no explanation for his action and has “obstructed police custody”, in particular by ” rolling on the ground,” according to a source close to the investigation.

“The investigations are continuing”, in particular “to establish his personality, his career, what he has done since he has been in France”.

“He is totally mute,” added another source close to the investigation.

If the psychiatric examination to which he was subjected Friday morning had concluded that discernment had been abolished, police custody would have been lifted and the doctors would have taken over.

“The world is going crazy”

At this stage, his motivations seem “without apparent terrorist motive”, according to the Annecy prosecutor's office.

With no criminal record and no fixed address, this 31-year-old man who lived for ten years in Sweden, had left his family a few months ago to go to France and had been in Annecy since the fall of 2022. When he took action, he was not under the influence of narcotics or alcohol.< /p>

This father of a three-year-old child was in a legal situation when he arrived in France. In a new asylum application filed in France in November 2022, he declared himself a “Christian from Syria”, according to a police source. He was wearing a Christian cross when he was arrested.

The assailant, wearing black shorts and a blue scarf tied over his head, was clearly targeting children during his deadly attack, according to images from the drama authenticated by the AFP. We see him in this video raising his arms to the sky and shouting in English “in the name of Jesus!”.

The images also show a young man wearing a backpack trying to push him back. Named Henri, he is one of those who “showed courage and intervened without asking questions”, as President Macron pointed out to the prefecture.

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An adult was hospitalized after being injured by the attacker and then hit by police fire during the arrest, and another adult was hit more lightly. “I was sitting and he came like that, he surely wanted to make one more victim. I imagine the stress of the families, of the children and their loved ones, and of those who saw what happened. That's terrible, especially children attacked like that,” testified the latter on BFM TV.

The attack, which s is produced in broad daylight, horrified the inhabitants of Annecy and the thousands of tourists present at the start of the summer season.

With tears in their eyes, dozens of shocked people came to lay flowers or gather in front of the small improvised memorial in the playground. Bouquets of white roses, stuffed animals, candles and messages of support have been piling up since Thursday in front of the wooden castles and slides.

“Innocence under attack, what sadness!! A very emotional thought for the little victims and other injured people”, can we read among the handwritten messages placed in front of a small altar decorated with candles and white roses.

Thierry Dekoninck, a resident of the area, is came to lay roses in this playground where he comes “virtually every Sunday” with his children. He feels “sadness, pain for the family, a little hatred also because the world is going crazy”. A mass is scheduled for late afternoon at Annecy Cathedral.