On June 11, The Daily Mail reported that the ex-wife of Abdalmasih Hanoun, the 31-year-old Syrian refugee responsible for the knife attack in the French town of Annecy, had told Swiss and French authorities about his deteriorating mental state. 

The attack resulted in injuries to six people, including four children aged one to three, and a 78-year-old pensioner. During the attack Hanoun twice shouted “in the name of Christ.”

Hanoun’s ex-wife, who is Swedish of Syrian origin, claimed that both the French and Swiss authorities ignored the warnings she issued several months prior to the attack on June 8 in the Alpine town in the southeast of France. Hanoun and his wife separated after he abruptly left the family home some eight months ago. 

“They should have listened to her when she contacted them,” a family friend living near Göteborg told the British newspaper. “Maybe this could have been stopped.” He also said that Hanoun had left his wife and three-year-old daughter when his application for Swedish citizenship was denied.

Hanoun subsequently sought asylum in Switzerland and France. He requested asylum in France in November 2022, which was rejected four days before the attack. He had one month to appeal the decision. 

Hanoun had been seen in the park every day in the past few weeks. He would sleep in a cardboard box at night, swim in the lake in the morning, and spend the day in the park, a French investigating source told The Daily Mail. A park worker said that Hanoun would sit on the same bench every day and always wore the same clothes.

Sole Survivor 

According to the family friend, Hanoun was traumatized due to the Syrian war. In 2012, while serving in the Syrian army, Hanoun and his unit were attacked by a jihadist group. Hanoun was the sole survivor. Shortly afterwards, he fled to Turkey, where he lived in a refugee camp before eventually making it to Sweden.

However, the friend stressed: “We strongly condemn his actions. There is no justification for what he did.” 

Hanoun’s mother, who has lived in the United States for the past 10 years, was astonished by her son’s actions. She had been told about his depression, not helped by the Swedish authorities twice denying him citizenship. 

Some four months ago, Hanoun – who is Christian – had contacted his ex-wife and informed her he was staying in a church. 

According to the family friend, his ex-wife had no knowledge of Hanoun’s involvement in the Annecy attack until a French journalist contacted her. She was unable to comprehend what she saw on the news. His behavior was completely out of character. According to her, he cherished his daughter more than anything. 

No Criminal Record

Swedish civil records show that Hanoun first lived in the Vingåker in Södermanland County, some 160 kilometers west of Stockholm. He later moved to the Swedish capital, before returning to Södermanland, settling in Eskilstuna, some 110 kilometers west from Stockholm.

Hanoun still has a residence in Trollhättan, a city some 420 kilometers away from the capital. It appears that he moved there during the previous summer. 

Hanoun does not have a criminal record in Sweden or elsewhere in Europe. A year ago, the Eskilstuna District Court did give him a suspended sentence for receiving some 50,000 Swedish kronor (US$ 4,619) in unemployment benefits, while at the same time receiving student support. In Sweden it is not allowed to receive financial aid from multiple government agencies simultaneously. 

Hanoun declared at the time that he was facing financial difficulties, which had led him to sell his wife’s jewelry. Since Hanoun had no prior convictions, the court only gave him a suspended sentence and a fine.

Hanoun has had a permanent residence permit in Sweden since April. However, his applications for Swedish citizenship were twice rejected. He submitted a third application last year.

In 2004, the Swedish government decided not to grant citizenship to applicants when involved with an organization committing gross violations of human rights, such as torture and extrajudicial executions. In November 2020, the Swedish Immigration Service recognized the Syrian army as being responsible for such violations.. 

Hanoun was arrested shortly after the Annecy attack. Following a psychiatric examination it was determined that he had not acted under the influence of drugs or alcohol. 

The Public Prosecutor’s Office in Annecy stated that the attacker’s motives remain unclear and do not appear to be related to terrorism. 

Currently in pretrial detention, Hanoun has been charged with attempted murder and is facing possible life imprisonment.