PARIS – Law enforcement and local authorities are investigating a violent incident in the northern French city of Caen, where a motorman intentionally drove a vehicle into a crowd of pedestrians late Wednesday, leaving two dead and nine wounded, government officials confirmed Thursday.
Initial overnight reports from David Clavière, the top regional administrator serving as Prefect of Calvados, had put the death toll at one. But Clavière’s office issued an updated statement Thursday morning that revised the number of fatalities upward, noting that nine additional people had been hurt in the attack.
Unlike many high-profile vehicle attacks in recent European history, regional and national officials have ruled out terrorism as a motive for the violence. According to Caen Mayor Aristide Olivier, who spoke to local broadcaster ICI Normandie, early evidence suggests the incident grew out of a casual conflict that escalated far beyond control. Olivier described it as “a fight that turned bad” in comments to the radio outlet.
Clavière confirmed in his public statements that the attack targeted a group of pedestrians gathered on a street directly across from Caen’s main train station. The suspected driver, a man born in Russia, has already been taken into police custody, and a formal criminal investigation is now active to determine the full circumstances of the incident and any additional factors that may have contributed to the attack.