EXCLUSIVE: The ex-wife of a Syrian refugee who stabbed six people including four children during a stabbing rampage in the Alps resort warned French and Swiss authorities about her months earlier
- Abdalmasih Hanoun attacked six, stabbing four children between the ages of one and three
- His ex-wife’s warnings were ignored after he left home eight months ago
A three-year-old British girl who was stabbed in a French playground by a crazed knife will be discharged from hospital in the coming days.
Ettie Turner’s family were on vacation in Annecy when Abdalmasih Hanoun, 32, launched his insane attack on Thursday.
The Syrian refugee stabbed four children between the ages of one and three and injured two pensioners in the lakeside town in the French Alps.
He was arrested after the police shot him in the legs.
The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Hanoun’s Swedish wife tipped French and Swiss authorities about her husband months before the attack but was ignored.
The woman, herself of Syrian descent, has since divorced her after he suddenly left the family home eight months ago.
The Syrian refugee (pictured) stabbed four children aged between one and three and injured two pensioners in the lakeside town in the French Alps on Thursday
A close friend said: ‘They should have listened to her when she contacted them. Maybe it could have been stopped.
Hanoun is charged with attempted murder and faces life imprisonment.
Ettie’s parents met French President Emmanuel Macron at the hospital where she is being treated. He said, “She watches TV and [the attack] is already just a bad memory.
It emerged that Hanoun was traumatized after fighting in the Syrian civil war.
The family friend, who lives near Gothenburg, Sweden, revealed he left his wife and three-year-old daughter eight months ago after being denied Swedish citizenship.
He attempted to seek asylum in Switzerland and France.
On both occasions, his wife told immigration that he was unwell.
His calls and emails were ignored, the friend said, adding: ‘We condemn what he did. No one can explain why he did this.
During military service in 2012, Hanoun and his unit were attacked by a jihadist group.
“He was the only one surviving on his team,” the friend said. Soon after, he fled to Turkey and stayed in a refugee camp before reaching Sweden.
The friend said Hanoun’s ex-wife had no idea he was involved in the Annecy bombing until a French reporter called her.
The friend said: ‘She got home quickly and didn’t tell her colleagues where she was going.
“She couldn’t believe what she saw on the news and couldn’t bring herself to see the video of him attacking children.
“He never behaved like that in his life. He loved his own daughter more than himself.
Trainee nurse Hanoun targeted children in Annecy on Thursday. Pictured here apprehended by police
The friend said Hanoun’s ex-wife prayed all night for the injured children.
Hanoun had been seen in the park every day for the past few weeks. “He rested in a cardboard box at night, went swimming in Lake Annecy in the morning, then spent the day in the park,” said a source in charge of the investigation.
Hanoun appeared before the judges yesterday. Public prosecutor Line Bonnet-Mathis told a press conference that he refused to answer questions from judges and police and would be taken into custody.
She added that none of the victims were no longer in mortal danger.
