The driver who deliberately ran over and injured several pedestrians and cyclists on an island off western France invoked Allah during police questioning, prosecutors said on Thursday.
“He justified his actions by saying that he was following the commands of Allah, who had ordered him to make a sacrifice,” said public prosecutor Arnaud Laraize in La Rochelle, one day after the incident.
“He explained that he had initially turned to Catholicism, but had recently converted to Islam on his own and with the help of social networks.”
The 35-year-old ran over five people in the commune of Saint-Pierre-d’Oléron on Oléron Island, near La Rochelle.
Two of the victims were seriously injured.
According to the public prosecutor’s office, the driver shouted “Allah Akbar” (“God is great” in Arabic) when he was arrested.
“He said he wanted to die by self-immolation, but failed to blow up his vehicle,” Laraize said. In his last interrogation, he said he had been hearing strange noises in his head for some time and expressed a desire to be locked up.
A psychiatrist concluded that the driver was sane but dangerous due to an addiction, said the prosecutor.
The man, who is known to the police for minor offences, is being investigated for attempted murder.
The anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office initially observed the case but did not intervene in the investigation.
