Prosecutors are treating the ‘deliberate’ attack as an act of terrorism
Authorities on Wednesday arrested a man suspected of ramming a car into a group of soldiers in a suburb of the French capital, police officials said, potentially ending the manhunt in a case that prosecutors are treating as an act of terrorism.
The man was detained on a highway north of Paris, after police spotted and followed the car used in the morning attack, according to a police officer. The suspect, who tried to flee, was shot during the arrest, but is alive, the police officer added.
In the attack, a person behind the wheel of a dark-colored BMW waited in an alley near the soldiers’ local barracks in a municipal building across from a park, ambushing them around 8 a.m. local time, officials said.
The attack took place as about 10 soldiers walked to their vehicles to begin their patrol, said Patrick Balkany, the local mayor for the suburb of Levallois-Perret. The car initially crept around a corner to approach the soldiers, then in a burst of acceleration mowed them down and sped off, added French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb.
“We know it was a deliberate act. This was no accident,” Mr. Collomb said on French television. He added that soldiers said it appeared to them that there was only one man in the car, but he couldn’t immediately confirm their account.
Witnesses speaking on French TV described hearing a loud crash like a car accident, followed by shouts of military…