Police shoot suspect who mowed down troops
POLICE shot and wounded a terrorist suspect yesterday after he ran down six soldiers with a hired BMW in Paris.
The driver, identified as Hamou Bachir, a 36-year-old Algerian illegal immigrant, ploughed into a uniformed and heavily armed unit of the 35th Infantry Regiment as they took part in a key anti-terrorism initiative.
The drama began at 8am in the suburb of Levallois-Perret where France’s main counter-terrorism intelligence agency is based. “There was a huge crash,” said witness Thierry Chappe, “then I saw soldiers scattered all over the ground.”
Three of the troops were badly hurt and taken to a nearby military hospital, while others were treated at the scene.
Bachir, who did not say a word in the attack and did not fire a gun, sped away in his black BMW 2 Series.
Its number plate was picked up by surveillance cameras, enabling police to establish that it was a hire car with an integrated GPS system.
The car was tracked racing along the A16 motorway and two specialist firearms units stopped it at a service station outside Boulogne.
The suspect was told to get out of the car with his hands up. He is thought to have a made “a sudden movement” and police riddled the car with bullets, hitting him five times.
He was under guard in intensive care in hospital last night.