THE man accused of stabbing four toddlers and two adults at a playground in a French town last week has been moved to a psychiatric hospital, sources said yesterday.

The suspect, named Abdalmasih H., was charged with attempted murder following the June 8 stabbing rampage at a park in the Alpine town of Annecy, a normally idyllic lakeside spot popular with tourists.

A Syrian refugee in his early 30s who had been living in Europe for the last decade, he had undergone two psychiatric evaluations in police custody.

He was transferred yesterday to a psychiatric hospital near Lyon, two sources with knowledge of the case told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

He has refused to speak to authorities, and officials, while ruling out a terror motive, have not determined the reason for the attack.

The child victims, aged between 22 months and three years, were initially hospitalised in a serious condition, while one adult was seriously wounded and another lightly hurt. All were declared to no longer be in life-threatening condition.

Recently divorced from a Swedish national, the suspect had previously lived for 10 years in Sweden where he was granted refugee status in April, security sources and his ex-wife told AFP.

He left the country because he had been unable to get Swedish nationality and applied for asylum in Switzerland, Italy and France.

His French application was rejected a few days before the attack, as he already enjoyed refugee status in Sweden.

He was judged not to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs during the attack. – AFP, June 15, 2023.