Annecy: Christian and homeless – it’s Abdalmasih H.

The alleged perpetrator of a brutal knife attack in Annecy, in which four young children and an adult were seriously injured, underwent a psychiatric evaluation on Friday. Such a hearing is scheduled for Friday morning, Interior Minister Gerald Dormanin told TV channel TF1 on Thursday evening. Meanwhile, more details about the culprit are known.

This is how the criminal lived in Annecy

As “Le Parisien” writes, Abdalmasih H. will be in France from November 2022. Stayed for weeks in the park at Annecy, before the bloody action erupted on Thursday. A local resident said the Syrian citizen had been sleeping on a doorstep in the center of Annecy since his arrival. “He always goes to bed early, always brushes his teeth and cuts his nails – I thought he had a job.”

The culprit has something to do with Switzerland

According to French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, the accused has applied for asylum in various countries in recent months – including Switzerland, which is said to be pending. “The reasons are inexplicable to us. He didn’t have to do this because he had asylum in Sweden for ten years,” Thurman told TF1 television.

That’s all the police knew about Abdalmasi

The 31-year-old was apparently unknown to the authorities: according to the local court, he lived in “orderly conditions”. On November 28, 2022, the Syrian applied for asylum, which was recently rejected because Abdalmasih H. already had refugee status in Sweden. Abdalmasih H. came to Sweden in the summer of 2013 and was briefly married to a woman he met in Turkey. He later left the country because he was not granted citizenship.

says his mother

According to the convict’s mother, who lives in the US, the 31-year-old suffered from “severe depression”. The woman, who lives in the US, told the AFP news agency that her rejected asylum application in Sweden “probably upset her”. The mother said she had no idea about her son’s state of mind. It was her ex-daughter-in-law who told her about it. “He was never well, he was always depressed, with dark thoughts, he didn’t want to leave the house, he didn’t want to work (…)”.

says Abdalmasi’s ex-wife

By his own account, the man’s ex-wife, who lives in Sweden, was stunned to learn of the attack. “I don’t know what happened to him (…) It’s terrible,” she told AFP. The couple divorced last year and the man later moved to France.

It is known about possible motives

Prosecutor Lyn Bonnett-Mathis said Thursday that according to investigators, “nothing indicates terrorist intent.” As can be heard in the videos of the knife attack, Abdelmazi H. He screamed “in the name of Jesus Christ” during his attack. Upon entering France, the Syrian citizen declared himself an “Oriental Christian.” Meanwhile, residents of Annecy report that the 31-year-old does not appear particularly religious.

This has happened before

Five people, including four young children, were seriously injured in the attack in southeastern France, sparking international outrage. The brutal attack took place on Thursday morning at 9.45 am. According to police, two children and an adult are in mortal danger. Two other children sustained minor injuries.

“We saw a man attacking young children who were playing and apparently they were his target,” said an eyewitness. After that some people tried to catch the person. But as he fled, the police intervened. The man spoke in English and looked confused. At first we all thought it was a stage, but you could tell it was real by the screams of the people,” a witness told Scene France Bleu Pays de Savoie.