Aug. 14 (UPI) — A vehicle crashed into a pizzeria in northern France, killing an 13-year-old girl and injuring at least 12 others, federal police said Monday.
French news outlet BFMTV reported the BMW rammed into the restaurant in the town of Sept-Sorts in the Seine-et-Marne region. The interior ministry said the act was deliberate, though officials aren’t treating it as a terror attack.
Police arrested the driver, who the ministry described as 32 years old and French.
French national police, the Gendarmerie Nationale, posted on Twitter that it was investigating.
“Do not interfere with rescue operations,” the post said. “Respect security permitters.”
Early local reports on the incident said the young girl who died was 8 years old. Her age was later revised to 13.
The interior ministry told the BBC the suspect tried to kill himself in the days prior to the attack. He had no prior criminal record. French news radio outlet RTL said the driver told police he had weapons in the vehicle.
France and other countries have experienced an increase in vehicles being deliberately driven into crowds of people. On July 15, 2016, a militant used a truck to drive through a Bastille Day crowd in Nice, killing 86 people.
