Man rams car into pedestrians on French island, shouts ‘Allahu Akbar’

A 35-year-old man rammed his car today into pedestrians and cyclists on the French Atlantic island of Oleron, wounding 10 people, including four seriously, a prosecutor says.

The Oleron resident “deliberately hit several pedestrians and cyclists” along a main road on the scenic island off the western city of La Rochelle, prosecutor Arnaud Laraize says.

When he was arrested, he cried “God is the greatest” in Arabic, the magistrate says, an expression that is often used by Islamist extremists.

Police have arrested the man and are investigating him for alleged “attempted murder,” but the man’s motive was not immediately clear, Laraize adds.

A source following the case earlier said the man had “deliberately hit” the victims, across several kilometers (miles).

The prosecutor says the ramming occurred on a road joining the towns of Dolus d’Oleron and Saint-Pierre d’Oleron. The mayor of Dolus d’Oleron confirms the suspect was a resident.