Suspect in Paris Attack Caught on Highway

French police shot and arrested a man suspected of slamming a BMW into soldiers in a Paris suburb on Wednesday, injuring six of them in what appeared to be a deliberate and carefully timed ambush, officials say. He has not been identified, and police have not speculated about a motive. The morning attack hit the relatively affluent suburb of Levallois-Perret that is home to France's main intelligence service and its counterterrorism service, per the AP. The suspect was seen waiting in a BMW in a cul-de-sac near the Levallois city hall and a building used as a staging point for soldiers in France's Sentinelle operation who protect prominent sites from attack, say officials. A group of soldiers had emerged from the building when the car sped up and rammed into them, according to one official. It then drove away.

The street is normally guarded by posts that are removed when vehicles move in and out, so the driver must have known exactly when to strike, a local resident says. Those hit by the car were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries while police fanned out and searched for the attacker. Then, on the A16 highway near the English Channel port of Calais, police stopped what the prime minister called the "principal suspect" in the attack. Images of the arrest scene show emergency vehicles surrounding a black BMW with a damaged windshield. Police officers opened fire during the arrest to subdue the man, and the suspect was injured along with a police officer hit by a stray bullet, according to a judicial official. The suspect was taken to a hospital. His condition is unknown. (More France stories.)