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A driver deliberately ploughed into the outdoor terrace of a pizzeria in the small town of Sept-Sorts east of Paris on Monday, killing a 12-year-old girl and seriously injuring several other people, authorities said.
"There is no doubt that he voluntarily decided to create what happened," prosecutor Eric de Valroger told reporters at the scene of the incident.
Eric de Valroger announced he was ruling out terrorism and opening a murder investigation.
No weapon was found in the vehicle, he added.
Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet told Reuters the driver was a "depressive" 32-year-old who had an unstable character.
The incident occurred on the eve of a national holiday and witnesses said the outdoor eating area was busy.
A photograph published on social media showed a grey BMW car surrounded by upturned tables in the outdoor seating area of a restaurant. Reuters could not immediately verify the authenticity of the image.
Brandet said five victims were being treated in hospital for life-threatening injuries. Eight others suffered minor injuries and seven were treated for shock.
"Everyone on the terrace was hit," one witness told BFM TV.
A police source said the driver lived in a neighboring village to Sept-Sorts, about 41 kilometers to the east of Paris, and had tried to commit suicide on Sunday.
The incident occurred less than a week after an Algerian national was arrested on suspicion of deliberately ramming a hire car into a group of soldiers on a patrol in the Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret, injuring six of them.
(REUTERS)
