Driver held after ramming barriers outside Paris mosque

CRÉTEIL, France: A man drove his vehicle into barriers protecting a mosque in the Paris suburbs Thursday, forcing worshippers to dodge out of the way, police and officials said.

Muslim community leaders described the incident, which injured no one, as an “attempted attack” and an “Islamophobic act”.

It came nearly two weeks after a man rammed a van into worshippers outside a mosque in London, leaving one man dead.

The 4X4 vehicle on Thursday “struck pil lars and barriers in place to protect the Creteil mosque”, in the southeast of the capital, before speeding off and crashing into a traffic island, police said.

Karim Benaissa, president of Muslim groups in Creteil, said: “It was at the end of prayers, we were coming out and we saw this car driving towards the mosque.”

“Some of the worshippers had to dodge the car. If it had happened a few seconds later, it would have been far worse.”

The driver, who was also the owner of the vehicle, fled but was arrested “without incident” at his home shortly afterwards, police added.

A search was made of the driver’s home, a source close to the investigation said, adding that the suspect had made “confused remarks in relation” to a string of jihadist attacks that have struck France, killing 239 people since 2015.

The man is a 43 - year- old Armenian who wil l undergo psychiatric tests, another source close to the investigation said.

According to judicial authorities, he was not under the influence of alcohol. — AFP