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Two people seriously injured after being hit by a driver attacked at least five people During half an hour of violence on a popular tourist island off the Atlantic coast of France on Wednesday morning.
According to reports, the 35-year-old male suspect drove the vehicle into pedestrians and cyclists on the Île d’Oléron at 8.40am before attempting to set fire to his car with several gas cylinders in a “deliberate action”.
Local media reported that the suspect, named Jean Ji, had committed crimes before and was suffering from mental health problems. molested by him french police before being taken into custody in a nearby town investigation of attempted murder Opened.
The incident sparked anger among many right-wing and far-right politicians in France, who blamed “Islamism” for the attack. French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez confirmed that the suspect shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ while driving but authorities have not involved anti-terrorism police in their investigation.
Instead, they are believed to be looking at the suspect’s mental state before the attack.
Independent We’ll take a look at everything we know about the suspect behind Wednesday’s car crash.
How did the attack happen?
At about 8.45 a.m. on Wednesday, a driver hit several people over a 35-minute period between Dolce-d’Oléron and Saint-Pierre-d’Oléron, two villages on the island of Oleron.
French authorities say the driver shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ as he attacked, but police have been unable to establish a clear motive.
Pedestrians and cyclists were struck by the vehicle, with initial reports indicating that 10 people were injured. The toll was later revised to five.
One of the two seriously injured was said to be a 22-year-old parliamentary assistant to National Rally MP Pascal Markowski.
Mr Nunez said his life was no longer in danger but he had suffered “extremely serious injuries”.
National Rally MP Sébastien Chenu declared in a speech in the National Assembly that “the Islamic threat has never been stronger”. He said, “This is a war that must be fought here and now. Our country has already paid a heavy price for Islamism.”
However, it has not been confirmed whether the attack was inspired by Islamic extremism or not.
The suspect had committed crimes before
The island’s mayor, Christophe Sueur, said the suspect had committed several previous crimes.
He had been living a “very isolated life” and “wasn’t talking much” recently, Mr Suur said.
The suspect, he said, is a fisherman originally from the Dordogne region who was previously “convicted of several crimes, in particular due to regular consumption of drugs and alcohol”. reuters It was reported that he was previously known to the police for minor crimes including drink-driving and drug-related offences.
The man reportedly lives in La Cotinière, a small fishing village on the Île d’Oléron, a western island connected by road to the French mainland region of Rochefort.
according to le figaroHe was not on a radicalization watch list and was not considered a threat. The French outlet later reported that he “has recently become radicalized”.
Mr Nunez said later on Thursday that he was suspected of being “self-radicalised” and having “explicit religious references” at the home.
“Based on a number of factors present with this individual and the fact that he actually shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’, there are religious contexts in his case that are quite clear and obvious,” Mr Nunez said.
He added: “It is the Office of the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor that will determine, through a psychiatric evaluation – which took place yesterday after two searches – and a review of telephone records, whether these elements were the trigger for the violent action we witnessed.”
Police ‘investigating psychiatric disorder’
according to bfmtvAuthorities are focusing their investigation on whether the suspect had a mental disorder. As of Thursday afternoon, France’s national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office (PNAT) had not yet taken over the investigation.
Locals described the suspect as a “discreet man with fragile mental health”. parisian,
A neighbor of the man’s father in Saint-Pierre-d’Oléron described him as someone who was “mentally very fragile” and “alienated”.
Two men in their twenties who live near the suspect’s home near La Cotinière told the outlet that they had “crossed paths” with him several times.
One said, “He suffered from severe mental disorders, capable of laughing one moment and laughing the next. Everyone knows him for that, especially in bars.”
A former friend of the suspect described him as someone who was “looking for himself”, and claimed that he had recently announced his intention to “get baptized”.