A 47-year-old woman driving a van is suspected of having hit three women on bicycles in Rouen (Seine-Maritime) this Tuesday morning, before fleeing. One of the victims died from his injuries, while another was seriously injured. The suspect was arrested shortly after the incident by the gendarmes in Buchy. Four weapons were discovered in his vehicle. The forty-year-old held “incoherent comments after his arrest”indicated the public prosecutor, Sébastien Gallois, early Tuesday evening.
The tragedy took place around 8:45 a.m. A person driving a utility vehicle “hit a cyclist from behind on rue de la République, then further on two others on lane du TEOR, rue Alsace-Lorraine, in Rouen”details the magistrate.
“The first victim was slightly injured. The second was more seriously injured, but without a life-threatening condition. The third, violently hit, was taken to intensive care with a life-threatening condition; she died in the middle of the day”.
Municipal police officers began chasing the suspect behind the wheel who fled. The gendarmes took over from the police and managed to establish telephone contact with the forty-year-old. “During this pursuit, the accused had committed several other offenses”specifies Sébastien Gallois. The suspect was finally arrested in Buchy around 10:30 a.m., before being placed in police custody.
Four weapons seized from the vehicle
“Four category C or D weapons were discovered in his vehicle”continues the prosecutor. Category C weapons are subject to authorization. These are mainly rifles. Category D weapons are knives or even tear gas canisters.
The Rouen public prosecutor indicates that an investigation has been opened into charges of murder, attempted murder, aggravated refusal to comply, illegal transport of weapons, and specifies that numerous witnesses will be heard, while the images video protection will be exploited.
“No remarks with ideological or religious connotations”
In addition, Sébastien Gallois provided information concerning the results of the first investigations. The suspect’s employer
“had noticed his departure with the vehicle shortly before the incident, and had raised the alarm”underlines the same source.
“At least three other people – a cyclist, a pedestrian, and a driver – as well as municipal police officers were put in danger during the journey of the police vehicle”continues the prosecutor. Furthermore, the defendant expressed
“suicidal intentions”. “No remarks with ideological or religious connotations had been expressed”notes Sébastien Gallois, who specifies that the suspect “was unknown to justice and any other service”.
The forty-year-old “made incoherent comments after her arrest, but she was not intoxicated, the presence or absence of drugs was to be analyzed, and a psychiatric assessment was planned shortly”. The Rouen judicial police are responsible for the investigation.
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