newsadmin
A driver has rammed his car into pedestrians and cyclists on the holiday island of Ile d’Oléron, off the west coast of France, leaving four people in a critical condition.
A local man in his mid-30s had deliberately driven into people and he was arrested after being immobilised with a stun gun, authorities said.
The man drove some distance between two villages on the island, mowing down several people including a young girl, the mayor of Dolus d’Oléron Thibault Brechkoff said.
He eventually abandoned his vehicle and tried to set fire to it before running away, Brechkoff said.
The public prosecutor for La Rochelle, Arnaud Laraize, said the suspect was known to police and that he shouted “Allahu Akbar” (“God is greatest”) at the moment of his arrest.
The 35-year-old man is being held by police in Saint-Pierre-d’Oléron on suspicion of attempted murder, however France’s anti-terror authorities have not been put in charge of the case.
A popular holiday destination, the Ile d’Oléron is metropolitan France’s second largest island after Corsica and connected to the mainland by a road bridge.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said an inquiry had been opened into the incident and he was heading to the scene.
The incident took place around 08:45 (07:45 GMT), and local reports said a gas canister had been found in the back of the suspect’s car after he tried to set the vehicle alight.
Witnesses described seeing a series of incidents in several places on the island, including the villages of Dolus d’Oléron and Saint-Pierre-d’Oléron, which came to an end outside a bakery.
