 "2 critical, several injured after car rams pedestrians on French island; suspect in custody")
Two people are in critical condition and several others injured after a motorist drove into pedestrians and cyclists on the French island of Oléron, off France’s Atlantic coast, on Wednesday.
According to CNN affiliate BFMTV, citing Christophe Sueur, the mayor of Saint-Pierre-d’Oléron, police quickly responded to the incident and managed to apprehend the suspect “with difficulty.”
In a post on X, French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez confirmed that the suspect has been taken into custody and the investigation is on.
Meanwhile, France’s national anti-terror prosecutor’s office is also monitoring the case, though no immediate motive has been disclosed, reported BFMTV.
While BFMTV reported 10 passersby were injured, Nuñez said in a post on X that two people were in intensive care, and further three had lighter injuries.
Some of the wounded will be airlifted by helicopter to Poitiers, a city on mainland France, Sueur told BFMTV. He added that no children were among the injured.
According to BFMTV, after striking several people, the driver exited his car and attempted to set it on fire. Local prosecutors said he shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the attack, though they noted that no clear motive has yet been established.
The suspect, identified as a French Caucasian man in his 30s, was known to local police for common law offenses including theft and drunk driving, but was not known to French intelligence services, BFMTV reported.
The man reportedly has family on the island, where he lived and began his drive on Wednesday, said Sueur.
In the aftermath of the incident, his vehicle was left on the roadside “with its front ripped off,” the mayor said.
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View All“It all happened very quickly,” Sueur was quoted as saying. “I don’t associate with him, but he is a person who is known, particularly to the police services,” he added.
France has been rocked by a series of jihadist attacks in recent years.
In 2016, a Tunisian man ploughed a 19-tonne truck into crowds in the southern city of Nice, killing 86 people. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack.
France will next week mark a decade since the attack on the Bataclan concert hall and other locations in Paris, that were also claimed by IS and killed 130 people.
With inputs from agencies
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