Car driver ‘deliberately’ rams into passers-by near Toulouse, injures 3

At least three people were injured after a car rammed into passers-by in Blagnac commune near Toulouse, southwest France. Local media reports citing police say the act was deliberate.

The incident happened about 4 pm local time, outside a business high school, le Lycée Saint-Exupéry, French media report. The 28-year-old driver of the car, known to the police for minor offences, was arrested at the scene, BFM TV reported.

Police said that the man wasn’t on the fiche "S" list – an indicator used by law enforcement to flag individuals considered a serious threat to national security.

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Three of the school’s students, reportedly Chinese nationals, sustained injuries during the incident.

“At 15:54, a man driving a [Reanault] Clio car presumably deliberately hit three people at a pedestrian crossing,” Toulouse prosecutor Pierre-Yves Couilleau told BFMTV. “He was immediately arrested afterwards.”

The perpetrator told police he had a “desire to run people over,” according to the prosecutor. The driver has been “maturing” the idea for about a month before the attack, he added.

The driver is believed to be of “Asian origin” with a history of “psychological troubles,” Le Figaro newspaper reported.