A motorist rammed pedestrians and cyclists Wednesday across two neighbouring towns on the Île d’Oléron, a quiet French island popular with tourists off the Atlantic coast, injuring nine people before being detained by gendarmes, officials said.
Two of the injured are in critical condition, said Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, adding an investigation is underway.
Thibault Brechkoff, the mayor of Dolus-d’Oléron, said that several deliberate collisions left nine people injured, some in his town. A crisis cell was set up and the suspect was arrested, he said.
French TV showed images of car which had allegedly been set on fire before an arrest was made.
“We are extremely shocked," Brechkoff told BFM-TV. “All municipal services are fully mobilized. Two helicopters are on site transporting the gravely injured to Poitiers” on the French mainland.
He said he contacted the mother of one of the injured victims. “You’re never prepared to announce news like this," he said.
Christophe Sueur, the mayor of nearby Saint-Pierre-d’Oléron, said the front of the car used by the suspect was “completely torn off.”
He said it appeared the driver “was fully aware of what he was doing.”
According to Sueur, the suspect was known to the police for minor common-law offenses, specifically theft and repeated problems linked to alcohol and drug use. He was not flagged for radicalization.
The incidents took place along roadside areas between Dolus-d’Oléron and Saint-Pierre-d’Oléron, with initial calls around 9:00 a.m, local time, according to French media.
Media reports identified the suspect is a 35-year-old French national residing in La Cotinière, a small fishing village on the west coast of Île d’Oléron.
