Two people have been killed and nine others injured after a 26-year-old man deliberately drove a car into a group of people outside the railway station in Caen, Normandy. The incident happened at around 10:15 p.m. on Wednesday, August 26, following an altercation in the area. Prosecutors said evidence from the scene and witness accounts indicated that the vehicle did not attempt to brake or avoid the pedestrians and instead changed direction towards them. Authorities initially reported one death, but a second victim, a 28-year-old man believed to be an Afghan national, later died in hospital. The injured are men aged between 17 and 36 and include several nationalities.
The driver fled the scene but was later arrested in Ouistreham, about 20 kilometres from Caen. He is a 26-year-old Russian national of Chechen origin who was legally residing in France, had no previous criminal convictions and was not known to the intelligence services. Caen prosecutor Joël Garrigue said investigators have now ruled out terrorism, with no evidence of political, ideological or extremist motivation. Several other possible explanations are being examined, but authorities have not yet established whether the suspect targeted particular individuals or the group as a whole. An investigation has been opened for murder and intentional violence with a weapon. Sources: Caen prosecutor’s office, AFP and local authorities.
