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A driver has rammed his car into pedestrians and cyclists on the holiday island of Oléron, off the west coast of France, injuring five people – including two who are in a critical condition.
A local man in his mid-30s deliberately drove into people and 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 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.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, who travelled to the scene, said an inquiry had been opened into the incident and that the prosecutor would decide whether to pass on the case to anti-terrorism authorities.
He said that one of the badly injured victims was a 22-year-old woman who suffered multiple traumas.
The 35-year-old suspect is being held by police in Saint-Pierre-d’Oléron on suspicion of attempted murder.
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.
The incident took place around 08:45 (07:45 GMT) and lasted 25 minutes, Nuñez said. According to local reports said a gas canister was found in the back of the suspect’s car after he 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.
