Around 9:45 am (0745 GMT), a man brandishing a knife attacked a group of toddlers as they played in a park close to the town’s lake, according to an AFP report from a security source and a local official. The children, all under three years old, were in the park enjoying themselves.
Gerald Darmanin, the interior minister, wrote on Twitter that the perpetrator “has been arrested thanks to the swift reaction of security forces.”
The security source told AFP that at least three of the victims were in critical condition.
As soon as the attack was reported in the French media, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne’s office said she was en route to the scene, and members of the national parliament observed a moment of silence.
The suspect in a stabbing attack in the French town of Annecy that wounded seven people including six children on Thursday told police he was a Syrian asylum seeker, a police source told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The suspected attacker’s identity is being verified and has not been confirmed, according to the source, who added that he is thought to be unknown to security services.