Car Speeds into Crowd in Mannheim: Police in Major Operation

According to the Minister of the Interior of Baden-Württemberg, Thomas Strobl (CDU), two people lost their lives, and many others were injured. The motive is currently unclear.

According to Strobl, a 40-year-old German from Rhineland-Palatinate was behind the wheel of the car. He has been arrested and is injured in a hospital. Investigators do not believe there are any other perpetrators.

It is still unclear whether it was an accident. According to eyewitness reports, the man is said to have driven from Friedrichsring into the several hundred meters long Planken, the main shopping street, and hit or run 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 Strobl, there is currently no evidence to suggest that the act is connected to a carnival event.

According to a dpa reporter, debris was scattered at the scene. Photos also show the completely wrecked black compact car of the alleged driver.

Police: Avoid Mannheim City Center

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

To care for 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 care 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. 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, 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 at the Mannheim marketplace. The 29-year-old police officer Rouven Laur later succumbed to his injuries. Another officer shot the attacker.

The Federal Prosecutor's Office assumes that the accused has sympathies for the terrorist group 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)

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