2017 Sept-Sorts car attack explained

Sept-Sorts car attack
Location:Sept-Sorts, Seine-et-Marne, France
Coordinates:48.5616°N 3.0611°W
Date:14 August 2017
Time:8:15 pm
Type:Vehicular attack
Fatalities:1
Injuries:12
Victim:-->
Perpetrator:David Patterson
Assailant:-->
Weapons:BMW vehicle
Numpart:-->
Dfen:-->

On 14 August 2017, a car deliberately rammed into a busy pizzeria restaurant in Sept-Sorts, a village about 55km (34miles) east from Paris, France. The attack resulted in the death of a 13-year-old girl and injuries to 12 people.[1] [2] [3] [4]

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 soon arrived at the scene and arrested the driver.[5]

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 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 and was thought to have been a cannabis smoker since the age of nine. French President Emmanuel Macron sent his condolences to the victims via Twitter.[6] The attack came just five days after another car ramming attack in Paris that injured six people (see Levallois-Perret attack).

Notes and References

  1. News: Car rams French pizzeria killing girl. 15 August 2017. www.bbc.co.uk. BBC News.
  2. Web site: Calant . Guénaèle . 2021-04-22 . Sept-Sorts: Condamné à la perpétuité, David Patterson fait appel du verdict . 2024-03-12 . leparisien.fr . fr-FR.
  3. Web site: 2022-08-29 . Drame de Sept-Sorts : le procès en appel s'ouvre ce 30 août à Créteil . 2024-03-12 . France 3 Paris Ile-de-France . fr-FR.
  4. Web site: Léo . Faustine Léo . 2022-08-15 . «Là on va être dans la rage» : à Sept-Sorts, les 49 victimes de David Patterson unies pour affronter le procès en appel . 2024-03-12 . leparisien.fr . fr-FR.
  5. Web site: Girl dies after car 'deliberately' driven into pizzeria near Paris. Kim. Willsher. 14 August 2017. the Guardian.
  6. Web site: French pizzeria rammed by car; one dead. Saskya Vandoorne . Susannah Cullinane. CNN.