A driver has ploughed into a crowd of people on a French holiday island after shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’.
Arresting police officers, who had to use tasers, found gas cannisters in the boot of his car as he tried to set it on fire.
The car ramming has left ten people injured, three seriously, with several victims airlifted to the University Hospital of Poitiers.
It took place at around 8.45am on Wednesday between the villages of Dolus-d’Oléron and Saint-Pierre-d’Oléron, an island known as a top holiday destination off France’s West Coast.
According to officials, the driver deliberately steered his vehicle toward pedestrians and a cyclist.
Thibault Brechkoff, the mayor of Dolus-d’Oleron, told BFMTV that the man shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’, meaning God is the Greatest in Arabic, before accelerating. He also said the man tried to hit ‘everyone he could encounter’
Police are also examining whether the suspect may have been suffering from mental health problems. French media have indicated that at this stage, the anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office is not involved in the investigation.
Officers arrested the suspect as he reportedly tried to torch his vehicle with gas cannisters. He was taken into custody without resistance.
Police are said to have taken him to the Saint-Pierre-d’Oléron police station for questioning. He is expected to be transferred to a more secure gendarmerie on the mainland.
Local reports say the man is a French national in his thirties and lives in La Cotiniere, a village on the west coast of the Île d’Oléron.
The mayor of Saint-Pierre-d’Oléron, Christophe Sueur told Le Parisien: ‘He is known for his numerous transgressions, notably due to his regular drug and alcohol use.’
Reports say the man is not listed in the country’s database used to monitor individuals suspected of radicalisation.
Although the suspect’s motives remain unclear, police and prosecutors are probing the cause. The public prosecutor of Le Rochelle, Arnaud Laraize, confirmed that an investigation for attempted murder has been opened.
The incident took place at around 8.45 a.m. on Wednesday between the villages of Dolus-d’Oléron and Saint-Pierre-d’Oléron in the Charente-Maritime region
A local resident is reported to have said: ‘An individual in a vehicle is having fun hitting people in his path, and right here in my window, a pedestrian was hit and injured in Saint Pierre d’Oléron.’
According to traffic information from Info Traffic 17, a first incident, which involved a vehicle and a pedestrian, occurred near the Intermarché supermarket in Dolus-d’Oléron.
A second, involving a pedestrian, happened on Route du Treuil, in the same town. The driver is said to have hit a cyclist.
On X, the Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez wrote: ‘This morning, a driver struck several pedestrians and cyclists in Saint-Pierre-d’Oléron and Dolus-d’Oléron.
‘Two victims are in critical condition and three others were injured. The driver was apprehended by the police. An investigation is underway. At the request of the Prime Minister, I am going there.’
A psychological unit has been set up at Château d’Oléron.
This is a breaking news story with more to follow