Annecy stabbings suspect held over attempted murders

A man suspected of stabbing four young children in a playground in the French resort of Annecy is held on attempted murder charges, French prosecutors say.

The children, aged between one and three, were attacked with a knife in a park in the Alpine region on Thursday.

Prosecutors said the actions of Syrian-born Abdelmasih Hanoun, who they referred to as Abdelmasih H, did not appear linked to terrorism.

The suspect, 31, remained silent in police interviews, prosecutors said.

He has not been cooperating with investigators - in fact, he has refused to communicate with them and has spent much of the last 48 hours curled up in the corner of his cell.

Police had to physically carry him to his brief hearing before a judge on Saturday, where he was formally placed under investigation for attempted murder. He will remain in custody.

Local prosecutor Lise Bonnet-Mathis said during a news conference that the suspect had been assessed by a psychiatrist while in custody, and had been determined fit to appear before a court.

She added that it was too early to make any kind of conclusion regarding his mental state.

The brutal attack on victims so young - its horror captured on video - has shocked France.

This story contains details some readers may find distressing.

Footage uploaded to social media showed people screaming soon after a man holding a knife entered a playground next to a lake in Annecy.

Video that is too graphic for broadcast showed him attacking a child in a pushchair.

He then fled the scene and stabbed an elderly man nearby. Police intervened and the attacker was shot in the legs.

President Emmanuel Macron described it as an "act of cowardice" and travelled to the south-eastern region on Friday to visit victims and their families in hospital.

The attack has also fuelled further fierce debate about immigration policy in France, after it was found that the suspect has refugee status in Sweden and had also unsuccessfully been seeking asylum in France, Italy and Switzerland.

Ms Bonnet-Mathis said the four children - including a British girl who was on holiday with her parents in Annecy - were no longer in critical conditions in hospital.

The British girl was stabbed once by the attacker and was gravely wounded but did not sustain life-threatening injuries, Ms Bonnet-Mathis said.

Two of the other children were French nationals from the eastern region of Haute-Savoie, she added.

The other was a Dutch national who has been transferred to a hospital in Geneva for treatment.

Two adults who were also injured during the attack are also out of danger.

One of the adults, who was first stabbed by the attacker, was hit by a police bullet while officers were attempting to stop the assailant, the prosecutor confirmed.

The other adult, Youssouf, 78, suffered a minor injury.

Officials are referring to the suspect as Abdelmasih H but his full surname is widely reported.

The knifeman's motivation remains unclear. Witnesses said that during the incident the attacker invoked the name of Jesus Christ.

And in an unsuccessful asylum application last year for refugee status in France, he said he was a Syrian Christian.

He had recently come to France after leaving behind a wife and three-year-old daughter in Sweden - where he has refugee status.

French television broadcast pictures of the suspect being moved from the police station, ahead of his appearance before a judge.

BFM images showed the suspect being carried on a stretcher to a black car at the rear of the police station, and then a convoy of vehicles leaving the area.