France Car Attacker Screams ‘Allahu Akbar,’ Mows Down Innocents In Deliberate Assault

A man in his mid-30s deliberately drove into pedestrians and cyclists on Île d’Oléron, a French island off the Atlantic coast, on Wednesday, injuring ten people — four critically — between the villages of Dolus-d’Oléron and Saint-Pierre-d’Oléron.

The attacker, known locally for prior offenses including theft, substance abuse, and erratic behavior, reportedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” during his arrest, yet authorities have not confirmed a terror motive. He attempted to ignite his vehicle, which contained gas cylinders, before being subdued by police. Despite his alarming actions, French intelligence said he was not on any radicalization watchlists. The local mayor described him as someone “known to police for behavior that is not entirely normal.” Victims, aged between 22 and 69, were airlifted to the University Hospital of Poitiers, while a psychological support unit was established on the island.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez promptly launched an investigation and traveled to the scene upon the prime minister’s request. The anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office is monitoring but has not officially taken over the investigation. The attack has reignited urgent calls from French leaders like Sébastien Chenu, Deputy of the National Assembly, who stated, “There is an urgent need to identify, root out, track down, and combat this Islamist hydra in each of its networks, its funding channels, its rhetoric, and its political supporters. This is a war you must wage here and now.”

In October 2020, an 18-year-old Russian Muslim refugee killed Samuel Paty, a French secondary school teacher, beheading him with a cleaver. In October 2023, a 20-year-old who claimed his act was in the name of ISIS, launched an attack at the Gambetta-Carnot school in Arras, the capital of the Pas-de-Calais, killing a literature teacher who was trying to protect his students. In December 2023, a French man attacked three people in Paris using a knife and hammer as he allegedly shouted “Allahu Akbar.” One victim was killed.

The latest incident spotlights systemic gaps allowing individuals with troubled pasts — though not flagged as radical — to carry out violent rampages. It serves as a stark reminder of the persistent threat of Islamist-inspired violence in France and the imperative for decisive governmental action to safeguard citizens and counter extremism effectively.

A man in his mid-30s deliberately drove into pedestrians and cyclists on Île d’Oléron, a French island off the Atlantic coast, on Wednesday, injuring ten people — four critically — between the villages of Dolus-d’Oléron and Saint-Pierre-d’Oléron.

The attacker, known locally for prior offenses including theft, substance abuse, and erratic behavior, reportedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” during his arrest, yet authorities have not confirmed a terror motive. He attempted to ignite his vehicle, which contained gas cylinders, before being subdued by police. Despite his alarming actions, French intelligence said he was not on any radicalization watchlists. The local mayor described him as someone “known to police for behavior that is not entirely normal.” Victims, aged between 22 and 69, were airlifted to the University Hospital of Poitiers, while a psychological support unit was established on the island.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez promptly launched an investigation and traveled to the scene upon the prime minister’s request. The anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office is monitoring but has not officially taken over the investigation. The attack has reignited urgent calls from French leaders like Sébastien Chenu, Deputy of the National Assembly, who stated, “There is an urgent need to identify, root out, track down, and combat this Islamist hydra in each of its networks, its funding channels, its rhetoric, and its political supporters. This is a war you must wage here and now.”

In October 2020, an 18-year-old Russian Muslim refugee killed Samuel Paty, a French secondary school teacher, beheading him with a cleaver. In October 2023, a 20-year-old who claimed his act was in the name of ISIS, launched an attack at the Gambetta-Carnot school in Arras, the capital of the Pas-de-Calais, killing a literature teacher who was trying to protect his students. In December 2023, a French man attacked three people in Paris using a knife and hammer as he allegedly shouted “Allahu Akbar.” One victim was killed.

The latest incident spotlights systemic gaps allowing individuals with troubled pasts — though not flagged as radical — to carry out violent rampages. It serves as a stark reminder of the persistent threat of Islamist-inspired violence in France and the imperative for decisive governmental action to safeguard citizens and counter extremism effectively.