By Peter Pinedo
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 9, 2023 / 15:10 pm
A 24-year-old Catholic Frenchman named Henri went viral Thursday as the “backpack hero” after he stopped a potentially deadly knife attack at a playground in southeastern France by chasing away the attacker with a backpack.
French newspaper 20 Minutes reported on Henri’s heroic response to the shocking attack.
The perpetrator, only partially identified by French authorities as Abdalmasih H., is a 31-year-old Syrian refugee. On June 8 he unleashed a sudden stabbing attack on children and adults at a playground in the town of Annecy.
Two adults, men over 70, and four children, all 3 years old and younger, were seriously injured and later hospitalized due to the attack.
