Knifeman sedated as he's carried into court over France playground rampage

10 June 2023 , 08:37

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Knifeman sedated as he's carried into court over France playground rampage

The suspected knifeman who savagely wounded children, including a British girl in eastern France, today appeared in public for the first time since the attack – heavily sedated and surrounded by police.

Self-styled Syrian-Christian Abdelmasih Hanoun, 31, was presented before two examining judges at the Palais de Justice in Annecy.

He did not speak during his appearance behind closed doors, after being carried into the court room.

"He was placed under formal criminal examination for attempted murder and rebellion with a weapon," said Annecy Prosecutor Line Bonnet-Mathis.

"The suspect did not wish to speak when he was presented before judges. He will be remanded in custody."

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Attempted murder is punishable with life in prison, which is 30 years in France, and rebellion with a weapon comes with a five-year sentence.

Hanoun was himself wounded by police following the attack, when video footage caught him saying the words ‘In the name of Jesus Christ’ as he repeatedly plunged a knife into four children and two adults.

Self-styled Syrian-Christian and child attacker Abdelmasih Hanoun, 31, was unable to keep his head from nodding as he was carried out of a court in Annecy cthis morning (bfmtv)

"Hanoun left the commissariat soon after 10am, with four officers carrying his chair," said an investigating source.

"The chair is a medical one normally used by firemen to take injured people out of burning buildings."

Hanoun had his head slumped backwards, and appeared to be barely conscious.

Cops move people out of the way as a car carrying Annecy attacker Abdelmasih Hanoun, 31, arrives at court

He was himself wounded by police following the attack, when video footage caught him saying the words "In the name of Jesus Christ" as he repeatedly plunged a knife into four children and two adults.

They included British girl Ettie, aged three, and three younger children, as well as two adults.

All were ‘stable’ on Saturday, and making a good recovery, with Ettie well enough to watch television.

Hanoun prowling the playground after picking off the young children by stabbing into their prams

Also targeted were two French cousins named as Ennio and Alba, both two, and Peter, a 22-month-old Dutch boy.

The two adults who were attacked were Manuel, 70, and Yusuf, 78, who was also hit by a police bullet in error.

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Despite being a failed asylum seeker who faced deportation, Hanoun was left to sleep rough in Annecy.

A woman desperately tries to defend her child as the rampaging knifeman attacked

A source who works on a lake pontoon by Lake Annecy said that he saw Hanoun ‘every day for the two months preceding the attack.

The source said: "He was dressed in black – black backpack, dark glasses, bearded, and he wore a headdress to protect him from the sun – it could be a t-shirt, this wasn’t a religious sign".

Line Bonnet-Mathis, the Annecy Prosecutor who is leading the investigation into the crimes, confirmed that Hanoun ‘will appear before a judge on Saturday’.

The moment he was arrested

Hanoun has been "having tantrums" in custody, and has "not provided any motive for the attacks".

The divorced father of a three-year-old girl was refused asylum in France six days ago and faced being deported.

Despite this, there were no immediate attempts to remove him from the country, or to monitor his movements.

A police vehicle brings Hanoun to court this morning (bfmtv)

Gérald Darmanin, France’s Interior Minister, said this was a "troubling coincidence", adding: "For reasons not well explained he had sought asylum in Switzerland, Italy and France."

Hanoun arrived in Sweden 10 years ago, having served in the Syrian Army during the country’s ongoing civil war.

French President Emmanuel Macron meets Henri the 24-year-old 'backpack hero' (Mourad ALLILI/SIPA/REX/Shutterstock)

He married a Swedish woman he had met in Turkey, and they went on to have a daughter, now aged three, before the couple separated around eight months ago.

Hanoun was twice refused Swedish citizenship, and this is thought to have motivated him to move to France alone.

The multiple stabbings follow a series of similar crimes in France dating back to 2015, most of them linked to Islamist terrorism.

Peter Allen