The incident, which occurred in Caen at about 10:15 p.m. local time (11:15 p.m. Lithuanian time), is not considered a terrorist attack, the deputy prosecutor announced.
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According to local prefect David Claviere, seven people are in critical condition, and three others sustained minor injuries.
It is believed that people were run over after a fight broke out, a police source said. Claviere stated that the car “deliberately drove into pedestrians on the street in front of the train station”.
The suspect, a 26-year-old Russian-born man, was not known to intelligence services but had been caught by police “only for several traffic violations,” Claviere said.
He fled the scene but was later apprehended in Ouistreham, about 20 km away, a police source reported.
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All victims are men aged 17 to 40, a senior security official in Caen, Bruno Coutanceau, told AFP news agency.
According to the deputy prosecutor, police have launched an investigation into murder and grievous bodily harm.
“At present, we do not see terrorist motives, but the investigation is just beginning,” he said, declining to provide further details about the identity of the deceased.
