Driver Ploughs into Pedestrians in France’s Second ’Lone Wolf’ Attack
Local Editor
A driver ploughed into pedestrians in eastern France Sunday, injuring 11 of them, just a day after a man yelling "Allahu Akbar" was killed in an attack on police officers.
Two of the people injured in the car attack in the city of Dijon were in a serious condition, a police source said, adding that the driver had been arrested.
"The man, born in 1974, is apparently unbalanced and had been in a psychiatric hospital," a source close to the investigation said, adding that "for now his motives are still unclear".
The man had targeted groups of passersby at five different locations in the city on Sunday evening in a rampage that lasted around half an hour, the police source said.
"Nine people were slightly injured and two others seriously but their lives do not appear to be in danger," the source added.
Witnesses told police that the driver shouted "Allahu Akbar" and "that he was acting for the children of Palestine", a source close to the investigation said.
Police sources said the driver was known to police for petty offences dating back to the 1990s.
On a street in the city center traces of blood and attempts by authorities to cover it up with sand could be seen. Nearby, victims and their families were being cared for at a hospital.
Dijon prosecutor Marie-Christine Tarrare refused to comment.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls took to Twitter to express "solidarity" with those injured in the attack.
The assailant, Burundi-born French national, Bertrand Nzohabonayo seriously injured two officers - slashing one in the face - and hurting another.
The assault prompted the government to step up security at police and fire stations nationwide.
Nzohabonayo had previously committed petty offences but was not on a domestic intelligence watch-list although his brother is known for his extremist views and once pondered going to Syria, the source said.
The weekend incidents in France come as governments around the world brace for so-called "lone wolf" attacks by individuals returning from terrorism abroad, or who are simply following "ISIL" group calls for violence in the countries involved in a coalition fighting the militants in Iraq and Syria.
The group has repeatedly singled out France for such attacks, most recently in a video posted on extremist sites this week.
Authorities in France believe around 1,200 nationals or residents are involved in one way or another in extremist networks in Iraq and Syria.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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