Germany Car crashes into crowd - at least one dead
A car has crashed into a crowd of people in the center of Mannheim. According to German police, at least one person was killed and several others were injured. The suspected driver has been arrested. It is still unclear whether it was an accident or an attack.
03.03.2025, 15:02
SDA
According to eyewitness reports, the man is said to have driven his car from Friedrichsring into the Planken and hit or knocked down several passers-by at Paradeplatz. A carnival market with dozens of food stalls and rides is currently taking place on the Planken and around the water tower.
According to a dpa reporter, debris could be seen at the scene of the incident, with at least one person lying covered under a tarpaulin.
Police: Avoid Mannheim city center
The investigation is in full swing, said a police spokesman. Information about the driver or the background has not yet been released. The police asked people to avoid the city center and to drive around a large area.
Psychological support is to be set up on site in connection with the large-scale operation. A police spokesperson in Mannheim announced that this is to provide care for those directly involved. Mannheim University Hospital prepared everything for a possible mass casualty accident. The hospital immediately implemented the disaster and emergency plan to prepare for the care of the injured. A total of eight trauma teams had been provided, both for adults and children.
In recent weeks, there had been several attacks in which vehicles had driven into crowds of people. In December, six people were killed in Magdeburg when a now 50-year-old doctor drove through the Christmas market. In mid-February, a man drove his vehicle into a group of demonstrators in Munich. A young woman and a child were killed.
At the end of May last year, the suspected Islamist Sulaiman A. also injured five participants at a rally organized by the Islam-critical citizens' movement Pax Europa (BPE) and a police officer with a knife on the market square in Mannheim. The 29-year-old police officer Rouven Laur later succumbed to his injuries. Another officer shot the attacker.
According to the federal prosecutor's office, it is assumed that the accused has sympathies for the Islamic State (IS) terrorist militia. The alleged perpetrator is currently on trial in Stuttgart.
Mannheim is located in the north of Baden-Württemberg on the border with Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate. With a population of around 320,000, it is the second largest city in Baden-Württemberg.
