A mother and her three daughters aged eight, 12, and 14 have been stabbed by a Muslim man of Moroccan origin at a holiday camp for being “scantily clad”.

French news channel i-Télé reported that the attack happened between 9am and 10am this morning. The attacker, identified only as ‘Mohammed’, stabbed the three girls, aged just eight, 12, and 14 years old, outside of the holiday home where the family were staying before entering the building to stab the mother.

All four victims were taken to hospital, and though there are conflicting reports at present, at least one of the children is in serious condition and had to be airlifted to a hospital in Grenoble. One of the girls is reported to have suffered a perforated lung, and the mother was stabbed in the chest.

i-Télé confirmed that according to their sources close to the investigation, Mohammed was a 37-year-old practicing Muslim who was born in Morocco. He had been known to the French judiciary for ten years, having committed crimes in the past.

However, it was confirmed that Mohammed was not on France’s terror watch list (known as having a Record ‘S’), and therefore was not immediately flagged as a threat to national security. He attempted to flee the scene by car, but was apprehended by police and arrested, and is now in custody.

Although i-Télé said that the motive was “unclear”, several news outlets have reported that a fight had initially broken out between the attacker and the mother over the clothing that she and her daughters were wearing, the attacker accusing the mother and children of being “scantily clad”.

The family were staying at a holiday park in Garda-Colombe in the Hautes-Alpes region of France. The attacker was known to the family as he was lodging in the neighbouring bungalow with his wife and two children.

This is the second violent attack committed by a Muslim of a North African background in France in one week since the Bastille Day attack in Nice. This attacker again targeting French families – specifically children – enjoying the summer holidays.