After noticing that a man had entered a playground in the city of Annecy, in the French Alps, with a knife, a group of people rushed to act to try to stop the attack. Among them was Manuel.
The 72-year-old Portuguese confronted the attacker and ended up becoming one of the victims: he received two stab wounds to the neck and also accidentally hit a police bullet, at the moment the agents were shooting at the gunman.
Manuel (his nickname was not revealed) was taken to Grenoble University Hospital seriously injured, but is now out of danger, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced this Friday.
The Portuguese Government has already honored Manuel, leaving him, “for the act of courage and bravery, a word of deep gratitude”.
Another of the characters highlighted for his courage in the attack on Friday is Henri, a 24-year-old student whom the French press calls “the hero of the backpack.”
This is because he used the two backpacks he was carrying to defend himself when he chased after the Syrian man who injured six people, including four children between the ages of 22 months and three years, two of whom were hospitalized in serious condition.
Toi, Henri, 24 years old, qui t”es interposé ce matin à Annecy face au tueur et à son couteau, au péril de ta vie, pour essayer de proteger les enfants, tu es un héros et la France toute entière te dit: MERCI . pic.twitter.com/5Uf5ZlEKX8
– Hugo Clement (@hugoclement) June 8, 2023
“I acted on instinct, I didn’t think about it, it was unthinkable for me to do nothing,” Henri said in an interview with French television channel CNEWS.
Henri, le «héros au sac à dos»: «J’ai agi instinctivement. Pour moi, c’était unthinkable de rester à rien faire» dans #HDPros pic.twitter.com/0F5fZjtxYe
-CNEWS (@CNEWS) June 9, 2023
Henri studies administration and philosophy and was carrying two backpacks because he was on a nine-month walking tour to see the main cathedrals of France.
The young man was received this morning by French President Emmanuel Macron, who invited him to be present at the inauguration of Notre Dame de Paris.
Source: TSF
