LIVERPOOL star Anthony Le Tallec was told to run for his life after being caught up in the Annecy playground stabbing rampage.
The former French footballer found himself amid the horror scene in Annecy during a morning run and spoke of the bloodbath on social media.
The terrifying ordeal happened today when a maniac knifeman stalked a busy park in Lake Annecy before stabbing four kids in front of terrified parents.
Le Tallec said via Intagram that someone shouted at him: "Run, run, someone is stabbing everyone along the lake, he has stabbed children, run, run."
The football ace reportedly moved out of the way of the suspect who was being chased by the police and running towards him.
He claimed the attacker then rushed up to an older man nearby and stabbed him multiple times.
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He said: "I see he headed straight to some old men and women.
"He attacked an old man, stabbed him."
It comes after bystanders said at least one of the children wounded in the frenzied attack was in a buggy at the time.
Others described running for their lives after the knifeman launched the attack at the playground before being chased away.
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Footage shared by the French newspaper Le Parisien and police union chief Bruno Attal appears to show a man clad in black wielding a knife near the scene.
In a different video the attacker who is wearing a cross, can be heard shouting "in the name of Jesus Christ" in English twice.
The stabbing left two children and an adult fighting for their lives in intensive care while another two children are slightly hurt, cops said.
One of the victims is aged 22 months, two are two years old, and one is three years old.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly confirmed one of the kids is a British national.
According to French news channel CNews, the three-year-old was rushed to hospital after the attack.
Two of the other victims are French and one of the children is Dutch.
A 70-year-old man, who was sitting on a bench, was reportedly knifed in the neck.
Eyewitnesses described mums screaming as the knifeman pounced on the kids.
An eyewitness told BFM TV: "He jumped (in the playground), started shouting and then went towards the strollers, repeatedly hitting the little ones with a knife."
"Mothers were crying, everybody was running," said George, another witness and owner of a nearby restaurant.
An eyewitness, who asked not to be named, said: "The man was shouting in English, and caused absolute panic when he started attacking the little ones.
"He wanted to hurt as many people as he could. He caused carnage. The young children were just easy targets."
Another witness told Le Dauphine: "After people tried to scare him, he walked away and the police intervened.
"He spoke English. In the beginning, we all thought it was staged, but with the cries of people, we realised that its reality, the guy was confused."
Prime Minister of France Elisabeth Borne said: "Our whole country is in shock."
The knifeman was later identified as asylum seeker Abdalmash H, 32, who arrived in the country in 2022.
The Syrian national had arrived in Sweden in 2013 and was granted refugee status in April.
But he had also applied for asylum in France in November, according to Le Parisien.
He was not known to security agencies and French prosecutors said they do not believe he has a "terrorist motive".
Speaking to France Bleu, an eyewitness reported that the man had been going to the playground every day for the past two months.
" He was there every morning, from morning to night and everyone had spotted him a bit because he was all alone."
The suspect's ex-wife, who is living in Sweden, had not heard from him for four months, BFMTV reported.
The couple are said to have separated eight months ago – with his wife looking after their child.
The TV channel also reported the suspect was "homeless" and he was from Hassake, Syria.
French President Emmanuel Macron slammed the stabbing as an act "of absolute cowardice."
"The nation is shocked. Our thoughts are with them as well as their families and the emergency services," he wrote on Twitter.
Home SecretarySuella Braverman said she is "appalled" by the attack and tweeted: "I am appalled by the attack on young children in Annecy, France.
"My thoughts are with the children, their families and the local community who have been affected by this shocking act.
"I'm in touch with my friend, Minister GDarmanin to offer our full support."
François Astorg, the Mayor of Annecy, said: "Appalling attack this morning on the Paquier park in Annecy.
"All my thoughts to the victims and families."
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A local lawmaker, Antoine Armand, tweeted that children were attacked on a playground and called the attack "abominable."
Annecy, a lake located in the French Alps, is a popular tourist destination.
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