The video will start in 8 Cancel

News, views and top stories in your inbox. Don't miss our must-read newsletter Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

An Afghan asylum seeker is accused of killing a 19-year-old man and wounding at least nine people in a frenzied knife rampage in France.

Witnesses said a man armed with a kitchen knife and barbecue fork randomly attacked people at a bus stop during the bloodbath in Villeurbanne, a suburb of Lyon.

He allegedly said during the attack: "They do not read the Koran."

Footage shows hero witnesses confronting and detaining the knifeman, who tosses the knife and fork to the floor and surrenders at Laurent-Bonnevay station.

Another video shows an injured victim clutching his knife wound as he lay on the floor.

Did you witness the incident? Email webnews@mirror.co.uk.

Bus drivers and witnesses chased the knife-wielding suspect as he ran into the metro station and then cornered him at an outdoor lift after the attack unfolded just before 4.30pm local time on Saturday, local media reported.

The suspect is a 33-year-old Afghan asylum seeker who was not known to the police or intelligence services, BFM TV reported.

The knifeman claimed to be from Afghanistan as he was confronted by witnesses, including four bus drivers, after the attack, Le Progres reported.

A witness told the newspaper that the knifeman said "They do not read the Koran" during his rampage.

There was no indication from the authorities that it was a terror attack. The suspect gave three different identities following his arrest, Le Parisien reported.

He did not state a possible motive and he was not carrying any identification, the report added.

He has reportedly offered three conflicting reasons for what happened, but none are related to terrorist groups.

Witnesses described a terrifying scene as the knifeman began stabbing victims at random and people ran for their lives.

(Image: AFP/Getty Images)

A woman, whose tank top was stained with blood, told LCI that one person had been stabbed in the stomach, a man was stabbed in the head and an older woman was knifed in the ear.

The woman said she stepped in front of the older victim to protect her, adding: "There was blood everywhere on the ground."

A witness named Nina added: "I was in the subway at the end of a mundane day and then [the police] evacuated the metro.

"We saw large bloodstains on the ground.

(Image: REUTERS)

"I saw a gentleman with his three young children, with blood on his face and his white t-shirt. Several people were traumatised, crying."

A bus driver opened the door to his vehicle to offer refuge to those who were running from the scene.

The 19-year-old man who died was originally from Isere and was travelling by bus to the Woodstower music festival at Grand Parc Miribel Jonage near Lyon, Le Progres reported.

A source said: "[The suspect] launched the attack in broad daylight while people were waiting for a bus.

(Image: AFP/Getty Images)

"A nineteen-year-old man was stabbed to death first, and then others were wounded in the head and stomach.

"Nine people were wounded in all, with others treated for less serious injuries.

"Four bus workers managed to disarm and calm the man down before police arrived."

More than 30 emergency services personnel - including the elite RAID tactical unit of the French National Police - and soldiers responded to the incident east of Lyon.

(Image: AFP/Getty Images)

The wounded were found inside the station and on its forecourt.

A possible motive for the attack was not known.

Lyon Mayor Gerard Collomb, the former French interior minister, told reporters: "For now, we do not know anything about the motive.

"What is certain is that it was not a fight since it was someone who attacked passengers waiting for a bus."

In the chaos of the attack there were claims that a second suspect was involved, but investigators later ruled that out and said there was only one attacker, Le Parisien reported.

(Image: REUTERS)

A man at the scene was carrying what appeared to be a kitchen spit, but French authorities said he did not participate in the attack.

The attack happened as football fans were travelling on the metro system to watch Lyon host Bordeaux in a Ligue 1 match.

The local prosecutor's office is handling the case, which is being treated as murder and attempted murder.

Terror-related incidents are probed by the national anti-terror prosecution office, which said it was monitoring the incident.

In the aftermath of the attack, right-wing politician Marine Le Pen blamed France's immigration system, tweeting: "The naivety and the laxity of our migration policy seriously threatens the safety of the French!"