Vehicle races into crowd in Mannheim - at least two dead

Vehicle races into crowd in Mannheim - at least two dead

At least two people were killed in a car attack on pedestrians in the Southwestern city of Mannheim, and several others were injured, as a local official announced on Monday.

suspect arrested

The Mannheim police reported that she arrested a suspect after starting a large search for people in the city center shortly after noon (6 a.m.). Mikla Cela, an employee of a restaurant in the center, described that he saw a black car drive past at high speed. Later he heard several people scream and saw a man lying on the floor in a white jacket.

reactions to the incident

Friedrich Merz, the chairman of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and probable next chancellor in Germany, commented shocked about the incident and other “terrible acts” that the country shaked in recent months. "Germany has to become a safe country again. We will work on it with the greatest determination," said Merz.

injured and perpetrator

The University Hospital Mannheim announced that three of the injured people are treated acutely, including a child. So far, the police have not announced how many injuries there are. Thomas Strobl, the interior minister of Baden-Württemberg, confirmed that two people were killed and several others were "seriously injured". The suspect is identified as a 40-year-old German citizen from Rhineland-Palatinate, which borders on Baden-Württemberg. "There are currently no evidence of other suspects," said Strobl.

incidents of the past few months

In the past few months, Germany has been shaken by a number of fatal attacks by vehicles. The police have not yet confirmed whether the incident in Mannheim was a targeted attack. In December, a vehicle raced to a Christmas market in Magdeburg and killed six people, including a 9-year-old boy. The suspect, a 50-year-old Saudi citizen, had lived in Germany for over a decade and worked on supporting Saudi's departure from his home country.

other tragic events

In February, a driver drove to a group of demonstrators in Munich with a Mini Cooper and killed a mother and child, with more than 30 more injured. The suspect is a 24-year-old Afghan man. This incident occurred on the eve of the Munich Security Conference and just a few days before the federal election, in which concerns about immigration and security pressed the right -wing extremist alternative for Germany (AfD) into the background.

additional security measures

The incident in Mannheim falls into the time when Germany celebrates “Rosenmontag”, a carnival before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. The German police forces were already on alert before the carnival celebrations, but the incident in Mannheim prompted some units to take additional measures. The police in Ulm, a city southeast of Mannheim, reported that it "noticeably increased" her presence around the carnival events.