A car alleged to have been driven by a Russian rammed into a group of men, leaving two dead and at least 10 others injured—seven critically—in Caen, Northern France.
Prefect David Clavière told reporters that a “car deliberately rammed into pedestrians opposite the station.” According to local security expert Bruno Coutanceau, all of the victims appeared to be men between the ages of 17 and 40. He did not (yet) link the violence to terrorism.
The suspect, previously unknown to the authorities except for traffic offences, was apprehended following a Normandy-wide search. The 26-year-old Russian-born male was arrested around 20km away from the crime scene in the port town of Ouistreham.
Caen mayor Aristide Olivier’s comments on the investigation coincided with eyewitness accounts of a fight between two groups before the incident took place.
The incident fits in with the recent wider pattern of weaponising motor vehicles in order to inflict mass casualty attacks.
