WARNING: Graphic Content  

Syrian refugee stabs a child in its pram in front of screaming mother as four kids aged 22 months to three are knifed while holidaying at French resort before cops shoot and arrest suspect

Four children all aged under three, and an adult, were seriously injured in an attack targeting toddlers playing at playground in France on Thursday

A two-year-old boy, his sister three girl, as well a 70-year-old man, who was stabbed in the neck are hospitalized with life-threatening conditions

The other young victims – a two-year-old girl and a 22-month-old boy – were not listed as critical

Witnesses saw a man began attacking the group of young children while they were playing at a small playground in Annecy, an alpine town in southeastern France, at around 9.45am

Assailant was identified as a 32-year-old asylum seeking Syrian refugee Abdalmash H, a father-of-one married to a French citizen

Knifeman was arrested soon afterwards following a brief struggle as two armed police officers and a man pinned him down on the grass before he was taken away.

Abdalmasih H. was himself seriously wounded by police, and was rushed to hospital, along with his five victims

The suspect, identified as Abdalmash H, was subdued at the scene and arrested******

Syrian refugee Abdalmash H, [photo], repeatedly stabbing a toddler in its pram in front of his screaming mother in a frenzied attack at a French playground that saw four children knifed

Early morning footage from France on Thursday morning, shows a madman repeatedly stabbing a toddler in its pram in front of his screaming mother in a frenzied attack at a holiday resort playground that saw four children and one adult knifed.
Witnesses recount how a man began attacking the group of toddles while they were playing at a small playground in Annecy, an alpine town in southeastern France, at around 9.45am on Thursday.
The attacker, identified as Abdalmash H, 32, a Syrian refugee who arrived in France last year, launched his rampage in a lakeside park in the town of Annecy, a tourist hotspot in southeastern France, at around 9.45am.
Distressing video shows the attacker running into the small playground and repeatedly stabbing a toddler in his pram while his screaming mother tries to protect him from the attack.

Further footage shows the attacker later being chased across the park by locals and cops before he was shot by a police officer and pinned to the ground.
Four children all under the age of three, and a septuagenarian, were seriously injured in the attack. Two of the young victims and the adult are now in a life-threatening condition at a nearby hospital. 
Witnesses said the knifeman had begun attacking the preschool children while they were playing at a small playground in a scene of utter ‘carnage’.
It is believed the knifeman launched his onslaught on the toddlers because they were ‘easy targets’.

Horrific footage shows a Syrian refugee repeatedly stabbing a toddler in its pram in front of his screaming mother in a frenzied attack at a French playground that saw four children knifed as well as an elderly man 

The attacker, identified as Abdalmash H, 32, [photo], launched his ‘abominable’ rampage in a lakeside park in Annecy, an alpine town in southeastern France, at around 9.45 am. He stopped when policed chased and shot him, before king him into custody

Witnesses said they heard the man shouting before he began attacking the small children in the playground. One of the injured children was in a stroller.
Horrific video of the attack shows Abdalmash H carrying a knife and running towards a screaming mother whose little boy is in a stroller before a local man hits the attacker with his rucksack and chases him away. 
But the knifeman jumps into the playground again and runs towards the mother and her toddler. The woman screams and tries to protect her son with her body but Abdalmash quickly moves around her and stabs the little boy twice.

French security agents and concerned parents rush into playground after knife attack by Abdalmash H, on toddlers in a playground in southeastern France on Thursday

The toddler can be seen screaming in pain as the mother and terrified parents scream for help as the attacker runs away again.
But the carnage continues. Abdalmash H runs back towards the child in the pram and stabs him again in front of his horrified mother before he is chased away by a local man who throws his bag at him.
Further video taken minutes after the stabbing shows the attacker being chased by locals across the park. Parents can be heard in the background screaming for help for their injured children.
Soon afterwards, armed police arrived at the scene and chased the suspect before a shot is heard and the attacker falls to the ground before a desperate struggle with the cops. 
Abdalmash H was chased down, subdued and arrested for the attack that left four children and an adult seriously injured. The knife-wielding madman who was shot by a cop during the chase was also taken to hospital.

Forensic team investigate playground in Annecy, France, after asylum seeker, Abdalmash H, attacked children. Police officers were seen at work inside a cordoned-off area at a playground following a knife attack

Media reports confirmed that the four young victims included British, German and Dutch nationals. 
Police sources told BFMTV that a two year-old boy and his sister, three, are in a critical condition. A two-year-old British girl and a 22-month-old German boy was also injured in the attack, according to C-News.
A 70-year-old man, who was sitting on a bench when the knifeman launched his attack, was reportedly stabbed in the neck and rushed to hospital. 
Describing the attack, a witness who gave his name as Ferdinand told BFM TV: ‘He jumped (in the playground), started shouting and then went towards the strollers, repeatedly hitting the little ones with a knife.
‘Mothers were crying, everybody was running,’ said George, another witness and owner of a nearby restaurant.
Another witness, who asked not to be named, said: ‘The man was shouting in English, and caused absolute panic when he started attacking the little ones. 
‘He wanted to hurt as many people as he could. He caused carnage. The young children were just easy targets.’

Further video taken minutes after the stabbing shows the attacker being chased by locals across the park. Parents can be heard in the background screaming for help for their injured children

Soon afterwards, armed police arrived at the scene and chased the suspect before a shot is heard and the attacker falls to the ground before a desperate struggle with the cops

Armed police arrived at the scene and quickly subdued the knifeman who was identified, a Syrian asylum seeker, before he was arrested and taken to hospital for injuries.

The chasing security agents catchup with the attacker. They are seen pinning the suspect on the ground after a shot was heard 

Four children aged around three years old were stabbed by a knifeman in a French playground this morning before the attacker was subdued by police. Pictured: Armed police at the scene

Paramedics treat victims at the scene of the attack in Annecy on Thursday

Two children and an adult are now in a critical condition and fighting for their lives at a nearby hospital following the attack

Further video taken minutes after the stabbing shows the attacker being chased by locals across the park. Parents can be heard in the background screaming for help for their injured children.
Armed police arrived at the scene and quickly subdued the knifeman, a Syrian asylum seeker, before he was arrested and taken to hospital for injuries, the French media reported.

Police officers work inside a cordoned-off area following the early morning playground attack

Another witness told Le Dauphine: ‘We saw a person attacking children playing games, small ones, obviously that was his target. After people tried to scare him, he walked away and the police intervened.’
Former Liverpool footballer Anthony Le Tallec said he saw a group of people running at him before a mother shouted at him: ‘Run, run, there is someone who is stabbing everyone all along the lake. They are stabbing children, run run!’  
He continued: ‘I was so surprised, I continued and then suddenly the guy appeared in front of me, then I saw the police who were ten meters behind him but they hadn’t managed to get him yet. He was so near to me so I got out of the way.’ 

Tallec claimed that police shot the suspect in front of him in order to subdue the attacker. 
He said: ‘I said to the police, shoot him, he is stabbing everyone! He attacked, once, twice and then they started to shoot, they shot in front of me, at the person, he fell to the ground. 
‘After I continued on my way then I saw in front of the lake, children on the ground – so very sad. But the police, the slowness, that’s what I noticed, the slowness was incredible, the slowness to trigger something (shoot). The guy had the time to stab the dad twice.’
‘He spoke English. At the beginning, we all thought it was staged, but with the cries of people, we realised it was reality.’ 
A man told broadcaster BFMTV he saw first aiders working on ‘little bodies, three or four years old, perhaps’.
France’s Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, who travelled to Annecy, said Abdalmash H is a Syrian national who had been granted a refugee status by Sweden ten years ago.
He was not known to security agencies and his motives were unclear, Annecy’s prosecutor said.
An investigating source said: ‘The attacker was a Syrian asylum seeker who has spent a lot of time in Annecy.
‘He was in a park square when he started the attack at about 9.45 in the morning. He targeted children indiscriminately, and also wounded an adult.’

Paramedics run to treat victims of the savage attack in the town of Annecy, France, on Thursday morning

An investigating source said Abdalmash H is himself a married father of a three-year-old, and a devout Christian.
‘He married a Swedish woman, and they have a child together,’ said an investigating source. ‘He entered France legally from Sweden at the end of last year.’
The source said Abdalmasih H. was a ‘declared and devout Christian’ who carried a prayer book and a cross at the time of his arrest.
Verified pictures posted on social media showed Abdalmasih H. approaching the children wearing shorts, sunglasses, and a scarf around his head before he launched his attack. 
The knifeman was arrested soon afterwards following a brief struggle. Video shows three two armed police officers and a man pinning the attacker down on the grass before he was taken away. 
Abdalmasih H was himself seriously wounded by police, and was rushed to hospital, along with his five victims. 

Paramedics and police officers are seen at the scene of the frenzied knife attack in Annecy

France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin tweeted: ‘Several people including children were injured by an individual armed with a knife in a square in Annecy. 
‘The individual was arrested thanks to the very rapid intervention of the police.’ The PM confirmed that five people were wounded, including four young children, two of whom are in intensive care. 
French President Emmanuel Macron who has denounced what he calls a ‘de-civilization process’ in the country, while opposition lawmakers say his government has been too lax on law and order, tweeted: ‘Attack of absolute cowardice this morning in a park in Annecy. Children and an adult are between life and death. 
‘The Nation is in shock. Our thoughts are with them as well as their families and the emergency services that mobilized.’ 
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne is now travelling to the scene of the attack, according to her aide.
Local politician Antoine Armand said in a tweet that children were targeted in a playground in an ‘abominable’ attack.
He wrote: ‘We still know very little but all my support for the victims, relatives, law enforcement and rescue.’
And François Astorg, the Mayor of Annecy, said: ‘Appalling attack this morning on the Paquier park in Annecy. All my thoughts to the victims and families.’ 

Members of the French National Assembly in Paris held a minute of silence for the victims of the knife attack on Wednesday morning

Politicians inside the National Assembly in Paris interrupted a debate to hold a minute of silence for the victims of the knife attack this morning. 
The Assembly president, Yaël Braun-Pivet, said: ‘There are some very young children who are in critical condition and I invite you to respect a minute of silence for them, for their families, and so that, we hope, the consequences of this very grave attack do not lead to the nation grieving.’
Parliament observed a minute of silence to mark the incident which was denounced as ‘by Speaker Yael Braun-Pivet in a Twitter post said : ‘Nothing [is] more abominable than to attack children.’