Update (3 pm ET): The Daily Mail is reporting that the driver in today's car attack near Toulous was "suffering from acute schizophrenia". While being arrested, he admited to hearing voices telling him to hurt someone. The three victims are Chinese students - a 22-year-old man and two 23-year-old women.
'The car mounted the pavement soon after 4pm and caused immense panic as it targeted students leaving the college,' said a local police source.
The driver has yet to be named.
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Three students have been seriously hurt after witnesses said a car appeared to deliberately rammed them outside a college in suburban Blagnac near Toulouse. Local media reports citing police say the act appears to have been deliberate, though the attacker's motive is not yet known.
Two of the injured are said to be in a serious condition. All three are thought to be of Chinese origin, the BBC reported.
The incident occurred outside a college in the suburb of Blagnac.
French media quoted police as saying the incident was deliberate but the driver, a 28-year-old man whose name has not been released, was not on a security watch list. He was arrested minutes after the attack, the BBC said. Police say the man was being sought for previous minor offences, notably drugs-related. Unconfirmed reports say he suffered from major psychological problems. The injured students, said to be aged 22 and 23, have been taken to hospital in Toulouse. The public prosecutor has visited the scene of the accident and for the moment there has been no suggestion that it is an act of terrorism.
“At 15:54, a man driving a [Reanault] Clio car presumably deliberately hit three people at a pedestrian crossing,” Toulouse prosecutor Pierre-Yves Couilleau told BFMTV. “He was immediately arrested afterwards.”
Toulouse Mayor Jean-Luc Moudenc tweeted (in French): "Very shocked by the aggression towards the students in Blagnac. We offer all our support to them and their loved ones."
Très choqué par l'agression à l'encontre d'étudiants à #Blagnac. Nous leur apportons tout notre #soutien ainsi qu'à leurs proches
— Jean-Luc Moudenc (@jlmoudenc)
The incident happened about 4 pm local time, French media reported. The driver is reportedly of "Asian origin," according to Russia Today.
