A car has slammed into a mosque in the eastern French city of Colmar. The driver has been detained by police after receiving a stab wound. It remains unclear whether the ramming was an attack or a suicide attempt.
An automobile has crashed into the Grand Mosque of Colmar late on Saturday, damaging its gate and doorway. The vehicle failed to penetrate the building, getting stuck in the doorway, footage from the scene indicates.
Photo de l'attentat de Colmar il ya une heure.
Un blessé à la mosquée
L'auteur s'est auto mutilé après le choc pic.twitter.com/OlyAkSsJjn— Ali Kacebi (@AliPoste) September 21, 2019
The incident triggered a major police response and the area was cordoned off. The driver of the vehicle was apprehended and brought to a hospital with a stab wound to his neck, local media reported. It was not immediately clear if the wound was self-inflicted or if someone else attacked the driver.
Esta noche en Colmar (noreste de Francia) un individuo chocó su auto contra una mezquita antes de comenzar a automutilarse. Fue internado en un psiquiátrico. pic.twitter.com/7vwwG7c46V
— Alejo Schapire (@aschapire) September 21, 2019
Video footage, purporting to be from the scene and showing a bloodied and motionless driver getting arrested inside the mosque by two police officers, has emerged on social media.
⚡??FLASH – Un individu a foncé en voiture contre l’entrée de la Grande Mosquée de #Colmar ce soir. Pas de blessé, à part lui. Aucune information pour l'instant sur l'auteur qui présentait une grave plaie ensanglantée au niveau du cou. Il a été hospitalisé. (DNA – ?NC) pic.twitter.com/5QaaZoYR9V
— Brèves de presse (@Brevesdepresse) September 21, 2019
“An individual crashed his vehicle into the entrance to the Grand Mosque shortly before 8 pm,” the local administration told AFP, adding that a probe into the incident has been launched. Nobody other than the driver was injured and that man had swiftly received “medical assistance,” the officials confirmed.