Suspect in vehicle ‘terror’ attack shot, arrested on Paris highway

Hunting down the man who drove his auto into a group of soldiers just outside Paris on Wednesday, French authorities arrested a suspect they say may know more about the attack. The man, who was not armed, was shot during the arrest, accrording to the report.

A manhunt was launched after the driver sped off, but according to The Guardian, police captured the suspect on a motorway between Boulogne-sur-Mer and Calais.

The vehicle took off after the incident.

On a quiet morning, the suspect was seen waiting in a black vehicle in a cul-de-sac near the Levallois city hall and a building used as a staging point for soldiers in France’s Sentinelle operation to protect prominent sites, according to two police officials.

Six soldiers were injured when they were struck by a auto early Wednesday, an incident officials are regarding as an act of terrorism.

Six soldiers of the 35th infantry regiment were injured in the incident, which took place around 8 am, the Defence Ministry of France said.

Six people were injured when a vehicle slammed into soldiers guarding the area.

Levallois-Perret Mayor Patrick Balkany told broadcaster BFM TV that the attack was without “any doubt” premeditated.

Daily Star Online has discovered that the A16 – where the suspect was arrested – is the quickest route from the capital to jumping on a ferry to the UK.

Balkany claimed that the BMW “had prepositioned itself in the cal-de-sack (where the barracks located) and barrelled into them”, adding that “the auto had accelerated very quickly”.

Officers and soldiers secured the scene – situated around three miles from city centre landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower – as forensic teams arrived to gather evidence.

Footage from closed circuit video cameras is being examined by investigators.

It means authorities believe the attack was intentional and planned with a terror-related motive.

The soldiers are part of Operation Sentinel, activated after the declared national emergency following the January 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack.

The soldiers targeted in the Wednesday attack belonged to the 7,000-strong Sentinelle security force, established in response to the militant attacks. Doctors say that their condition is serious, French Defense Minister Florence Parly said.

France, who has endured multiple attacks over the last couple of years, has been under a state of emergency since the terror attacks that killed 130 people in November 2016.