A second person has died after a man deliberately drove his car into a group of people in the northern French city of Caen on Wednesday, leaving nine others injured.
The second victim, aged 28, died overnight at Caen University Hospital. A man in his 30s died at the scene.
The attack happened at around 10.10pm near Caen railway station, where a group of people were gathered at a bus shelter.
Several of those injured suffered fractures to their lower limbs, Caen public prosecutor Joël Garrigue said in a statement on Thursday.
Altercation before attack
The incident followed an altercation earlier in the evening. The prosecutor's office said there was “no terrorist motive”.
The suspect, a 26-year-old Russian national of Chechen origin who was legally resident in France, said he had been attacked near the railway station before the incident.
He “said that he had been subjected to violence in front of the train station before the incident”, Garrigue said. “His statements will, of course, be thoroughly verified.”
The suspect later returned in his car and deliberately drove into a group of men waiting at the bus shelter near the station, also hitting other people waiting for a bus.
He was not drunk at the time of the attack and had no previous criminal convictions.
The suspect “is not known to the intelligence services”, Calvados prefect David Clavière said.
Murder investigation
The driver fled after the attack but was arrested in Ouistreham, a coastal town around 20 kilometres from Caen, and taken into police custody.
An investigation has been opened into murder, attempted murder and intentional violence with a weapon.
Investigators are working to establish the exact sequence of events, the prosecutor's office said.
(with AFP)
