At least one person was killed and several others were injured when a car rammed into a crowd in Mannheim, a city in western Germany, a police spokesperson said on Monday.
The car’s driver has been detained, but it is unclear whether there are other suspects, the spokesperson added.
Police are appealing to the public to avoid the area.
Motive Remains Unconfirmed
Police have not confirmed whether the incident was a deliberate attack, only stating that “a car drove into a group of people” and “a suspect has been arrested”.
The incident occurred as crowds gathered in cities across western Germany’s Rhineland for parades to mark the carnival season.
A black SUV drove at high speed into a group of people, travelling from the centrally located Paradeplatz square towards the city’s landmark water tower, local media reported.
Security Concern
Security has been a key concern in Germany following a string of violent attacks in recent weeks, including deadly car rammings in Magdeburg in December and in Munich last month, as well as a stabbing in Mannheim in May 2024.
Police are on high alert for this year’s carnival parades after social media accounts connected to the Islamic State militant group called for attacks on the events in Cologne and Nuremberg.
A major police operation is ongoing in Germany’s Mannheim city centre after the car drove into a crowd in the Wasserturm/Plankenkopf area, as per reports.
Emergency Plan
The Mannheim University Hospital has implemented its “disaster response” plan, according to a statement given to the German news agency DPA.
Eight trauma teams, for both adults and children, have been deployed.
The hospital also stated that “procedures that could be delayed and had not yet started were promptly removed from the schedule to free up additional operating capacity.”
Similar Incidents In The Past
Last month, a mother and her two-year-old daughter were killed in a car ramming incident in Munich, with a 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker arrested.
In December 2024, six people were killed and at least 299 injured when a man drove into a Christmas market in Magdeburg. The suspect was a 50-year-old Saudi asylum seeker who had criticised Islam.
(With inputs from Reuters)
