Car strikes pedestrians in Cannes, France: two dead, nine injured
French police have arrested a 26-year-old Russian citizen of Chechen origin suspected of deliberately ramming a car into people in the Norman port city of Cannes. Two men were killed and nine were injured.
Russian citizen arrested following car attack in Normandy
French police have arrested a 26-year-old Russian citizen of Chechen origin on suspicion of deliberately ramming people with a car in the Norman port city of Cannes, officials announced on Thursday. According to LRT, two men were killed in the incident, both believed to be Afghan nationals, and nine other people were injured.
David Clavière, prefect of the Calvados department, stated that in the late evening a car struck a group of people who were standing outside a bar following a conflict. According to a police source, the suspect was attacked by several individuals beforehand, but later returned in a car, drove onto a bus lane in front of Cannes station and deliberately struck men and other people waiting at the bus stop.
The death of a 35-year-old Afghan was confirmed on Wednesday. Joël Garrigues, the regional prosecutor, announced that the second victim was 28 years old and also believed to be Afghan. All nine injured are men aged between 17 and 36, of whom seven are in a critical condition. The victims include citizens of France, Egypt, Bangladesh and Sudan. In a prosecutor's statement, it was noted that several of the injured sustained fractures of their lower limbs.
Following the incident, the suspect fled the scene. The gendarmerie reported that he was apprehended in the nearby port city of Ouistreham during a large-scale search operation.
The Cannes prosecutor's office stated that "there appears to be no terrorist motive, although the investigation is only just beginning". According to the prosecutor, during questioning the suspect claimed that he himself experienced violence at the square near the station before the incident. "His statements will of course be thoroughly verified," the prosecutor added.
According to officials, the suspect, who is legally resident in France, was not known to the intelligence services and had no previous convictions. The man was not under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident.
Source: LRT