Car Speeds into Crowd in Mannheim: Police in Major Operation

In downtown Mannheim, according to security circles, two people lost their lives. Initially, there was talk of five to ten injured. The suspected driver, a German citizen, was arrested according to dpa information and is injured in the hospital. The police do not suspect any other perpetrators.

It is still unclear whether it was an accident. According to eyewitness reports, the man allegedly drove his car from Friedrichsring into the several hundred meters long Planken, the main shopping street, and hit or ran over several pedestrians at the level of 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 was scattered at the scene. Photos also show the completely wrecked black compact car of the suspected driver.

Police: Avoid Downtown Mannheim

Investigations are in full swing, said a police spokesperson. Further details about the driver or the background have not yet been disclosed. The police asked people to avoid the city center and take wide detours.

To assist those affected, psychological support was set up on site. According to its own statements, the University Hospital Mannheim implemented a disaster and emergency plan to prepare for the treatment of the injured. A total of eight trauma teams were provided, both for adults and children. Currently, two adults and one child are being treated with high medical urgency.

Case Evokes Memories

The case evokes memories of several attacks in recent weeks where vehicles drove into crowds of people. In December, six people lost their lives in Magdeburg when a now 50-year-old doctor sped through the Christmas market. In mid-February, a man drove his vehicle into a group of demonstrators in Munich, resulting in the deaths of a young woman and a child.

At the end of May last year, on the Mannheim marketplace, the suspected Islamist Sulaiman A. injured five participants of a rally by the Islam-critical citizens' movement Pax Europa (BPE) and a police officer with a knife. The 29-year-old police officer Rouven Laur later succumbed to his injuries. Another officer shot the attacker down.

The Federal Prosecutor's Office states that it assumes the accused has sympathies for the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS). 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 around 320,000 inhabitants, the city is the second-largest in Baden-Württemberg.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.