A massive manhunt is underway in France for a motorist who intentionally drove his automobile into a group of soldiers in an upscale neighborhood just outside the French capitol, reports the Guardian.
The incident occurred early Wednesday in the Levallois-Perret neighborhood north of Paris, when a car plowed into a group of soldiers stationed at a nearby barracks, injuring six members of the 35th infantry regiment.
According to the local Mayor, eyewitnesses told police that a dark-colored BMW appeared to be waiting nearby for the soldiers to emerge from the building and then sped down a wrong-way street towards the service members.
“It’s without doubt a deliberate act … This vehicle was waiting for them,” he said. “The BMW accelerated very quickly the moment they came out. This happened in the middle of the town. It happened very quickly.
The soldiers were operating under France’s “Operation Sentinelle,” the military campaign that placed roughly 10,000 soldiers on French soil following a string of deadly, ISIS terror attacks that rocked the country in recent years.
“Security forces are actively seeking the perpetrator, who is on the run. The ongoing probe will determine his motives and the circumstances in which he acted,” said France’s Defense Minister.