Former Liverpool footballer Anthony Le Tallec has recalled the horrific moment when a mum screamed at him to "run, run" away from a knife man on a stabbing rampage.
Le Tallec's usual morning jog in his town of Annecy, in the French Alps, turned into a nightmare when he witnessed the bloodbath unfolding at a bucolic lakeside park.
A Syrian refugee allegedly stabbed four children as young as three, including a British girl, and at least one adult, leaving some with life-threatening injuries, before he was arrested, authorities have said.
He was later named 32-year-old Abdalmasih H, who was pictured at the time of the attack wearing shorts, sunglasses and a scarf around his head.
Le Tallec, who played for Liverpool from 2001 and 2008, where he appeared 17 times for the Reds, filmed police and emergency services on Instagram as he slammed their slow response and retold the horror of what happened.
He said that he had been jogging on the lakefront when he saw dozens of people running in the other direction.
Suddenly a mum shouted at him: "Run, run, someone is stabbing everyone along the lake, he has stabbed children, run, run."
Le Tallec then moved out of the way of the suspect who was being chased by the police and running towards him.
He said the attacker then rushed up to an older man nearby and stabbed him multiple times: "I see he headed straight to some old men and women. He attacked an old man, stabbed him."
An eye witness named Ferdinand told BFM TV: "He jumped (in the playground), started shouting and then went towards the strollers, repeatedly hitting the little ones with a knife."
French President Emmanuel Macron said: "children and an adult are between life and death."
He described the assault in the Alpine town as an "attack of absolute cowardice."
Le Tallec continued: "I see the guy arrive in front of me on the grass, and I see the police about 5-10m behind, who can’t catch him."
He shouted at the police to kill the man in response to the mass stabbing rampage he was carrying out.
"I told the police: 'But... Shoot him, kill him! He’s stabbing everyone.' He attacked the old man once, twice and then they started shooting.
"They shot him in front of me and he fell to the ground, but the old man was already stabbed. I kept running and saw children lying on the ground - it was so sad.
"They were attacked, it’s unbelievable. But the police - their slowness, what I perceived - their slowness to reply, he had time to stab the man twice."
Both police and the Interior Ministry official cautioned that the number of wounded could evolve because the full details weren't yet clear.
In Paris, lawmakers interrupted a debate to hold a moment of silence for the victims.
The assembly president, Yaël Braun-Pivet, said: "There are some very young children who are in critical condition and I invite you to respect a minute of silence for them, for their families, and so that, we hope, the consequences of this very grave attack do not lead to the nation grieving.”
A local lawmaker, Antoine Armand, said the children were attacked on a playground. Speaking to BFMTV from the National Assembly building in Paris, he said the victims included "very young" children and that they were "savagely attacked."
The attack took place close to a primary school, he said.
Eyewitness translation from original French by Julie Delahaye
