One dead, 10 injured after car deliberately hits pedestrians in France's Caen

At least one person has been killed and 10 others injured after a car struck a group of pedestrians near a train station in Caen, Normandy, in northern France, police said.

The incident prompted a major emergency response in the city. A 26-year-old male suspect was subsequently arrested about 20km (12 miles) away in the port town of Ouistreham.

Local prefect David Claviere said seven of the injured were in critical condition, while three others sustained minor injuries. A spokesperson for the Calvados local administration told the BBC that some of those injured were being treated in the emergency department of a nearby hospital.

The incident occurred near a bar, and local media reported that a fight had broken out there shortly before the car struck the pedestrians.

“For the moment, we are not dealing with a terrorist motive, but the investigation is only just beginning,” Bruno Coutanceau, a senior security official in Caen, said.

Coutanceau told AFP that all the victims appeared to be men aged between 17 and 40.

Claviere said the vehicle had “deliberately driven into pedestrians in the street opposite the train station”.

The suspect, a man born in Russia, was arrested in Ouistreham after police launched a search operation. According to Claviere, he was not previously known to intelligence services, and police had been aware of him “only for traffic offences”.

Videos posted on social media appeared to show large crowds gathered around police vehicles and ambulances at the scene, where a substantial area had been cordoned off.

Police have opened an investigation into the incident, which will be led by detectives from Caen’s Specialised Crime Division.

Authorities have urged local residents to avoid the area around Caen train station while the investigation continues.

By Tamilla Hasanova