On 14 August 2017, a car deliberately rammed into a busy

pizzeria A pizzeria is a restaurant focusing on pizza. As well as pizza, dishes at pizzerias can include kebab, salads and pasta. Many pizzerias offer take-away, where the customer orders their food either in advance or at the restaurant and then take ...

restaurant in

Sept-Sorts Sept-Sorts () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France, east of Paris. It was the site of the Sept-Sorts ramming attack. Name The name ''Sept-Sorts'' comes from Latin septum, seven and a ...

, a village about east from

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The attack resulted in the death of a 13-year-old girl and injuries to 12 people.

Attack

The driver was in a BMW vehicle and smashed into the terrace of Cesena Pizzeria, where there were 20 people dining. The driver then tried to reverse, but was stopped. The

gendarmes Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

soon arrived at the scene and arrested the driver.

Suspect and investigation

The suspect was later identified as 32-year-old David Patterson, a psychologically unstable and suicidal man thought to have links to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

but a French national. He was not known to the police and acted alone, and the attack was not terror related. Patterson lived with his parents in

La Ferté-sous-Jouarre La Ferté-sous-Jouarre () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, département in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in north-central France. It is located at a crossing point over the river Marne ...

and was thought to have been a

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...

smoker since the age of nine. French President

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...

sent his condolences to the victims via

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

. The attack came just five days after another car ramming attack in Paris that injured six people (see Levallois-Perret attack).

References

{{Vehicle-ramming attacks 2017 road incidents in Europe 21st century in Île-de-France Attacks on restaurants in Europe August 2017 crimes in Europe August 2017 events in France Crime in Île-de-France Vehicular rampage in France