At least one person has lost their life and another ten have been injured, seven of them critically, after a vehicle ran over a group of people in front of the train station in Caen, in the Normandy region, in northern France, according to local authorities communicated early Thursday morning.
"On Wednesday, August 26, at approximately 10:15 PM, a driver hit a group of people gathered near the tram stop at Place de la Gare," reported the mayor of Caen, Aristide Olivier, in a social media post.
In that same message, he specified that, as a direct consequence of the incident, "one person has died," while seven remain in critical condition and three others have minor injuries, a balance he described as "particularly serious."
Regarding the alleged perpetrator, Olivier emphasized that, "thanks to the quick action of the Police and the use of security cameras, the suspect has been quickly arrested and taken into custody." "He was not listed in intelligence records, but he was in police records for traffic violations," he revealed.
After the incident, "the Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation for homicide and assault with a deadly weapon," the mayor pointed out before conveying his "deepest condolences to the victims and their families" and expressing his gratitude to "the emergency and security services for their quick response and mobilization."
So far, no official explanations have been offered regarding the origin of the event, although the French network BFMTV has reported, citing a source close to the investigation, that the incident may have been triggered after a fight in a bar located near the train station.
Subsequently, one of those involved would have gotten into a car with which they crashed into a bus shelter, according to the same source, which raises the number of deceased to two.
The victims who were run over would mostly be foreign citizens, including Afghans, Egyptians, and Bangladeshis, according to police sources cited by the French newspaper 'Le Figaro.'
The newspaper adds that the suspect, who was driving a black German car, left the area after the incident but was arrested in the coastal town of Ouistreham, about 20 kilometers northwest of Caen. According to the newspaper, he is Ibrahim I., 26 years old and of Russian origin.