Updated at 11.20pm
A TWELVE-YEAR-old girl has been killed and at least 12 other people have been injured after a car intentionally smashed into a pizzeria in the small town of Sept-Sorts, east of Paris.
Four of the injured are in a critical condition, including an eight-year-old girl, according to local TV station BFMTV.
French police said on Twitter that an incident had occurred and asked people to respect the security perimeter.
They also appealed to people not to share false information or photos on social media.
The driver was arrested in the aftermath of the attack. The local prosecutor confirmed that it was an intentional act, Le Figaro reports.
“A car drove into the terrace and crashed into the bar,” a witness told BFMTV.
The driver tried to reverse but someone stopped them. The gendarmes [police] arrived quickly. There were around 20 people in the restaurant.
Photos from the scene show tables and chairs scattered across the pavement outside the restaurant.
France has suffered a series of deliberate attacks in recent years with vehicles being used as weapons and local media reports initially speculated that it may have been a terrorist attack.
However Reuters reports that the local prosecutor dismissed terrorism as a motive and opened up a murder investigation.
“There is no doubt that he voluntarily decided to create what happened,” prosecutor Eric de Valroger told reporters at the scene.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say