Several people have been killed and more injured in an alleged vehicle ramming attack in the German town of Mannheim in Baden-Wurttemberg.
Around noon on March 3, a black vehicle reportedly drove into people at high speed in the city’s central pedestrian zone. The incident happened on Planken street, a main thoroughfare, right outside the popular shopping centre Galeria Kaufhof.
The car – according to some reports a black Ford Fiesta – was later stopped by a taxi. Mannheim police confirmed they had apprehended a suspect. An eye witness wrote on X that the suspect had driven his vehicle into the pedestrian zone at a speed of 70 to 80 kilometres per hour.
According to first reports, at least two people have been killed and more than 25 injured, 15 of them seriously. Limbs were reportedly strewn over the pavement.
Many ambulances could be seen at the scene while a police helicopter circled overhead.
Mannheim’s University Hospital issued a disaster alert and police told people to stay indoors and keep clear of the city centre.
The Baden-Wurttemberg State Interior ministry sent an alert message to citizens’ phones warning of a “life-threatening situation”.
While the police were officially still investigating whether the incident was intentional or an accident, German media have reported that the authorities assumed an allegedly deliberate attack.
Several carnival festivities planned in Mannheim for March 3 were cancelled and the city centre was evacuated.
Also in Mannheim, in May 2024 an Afghan refugee allegedly stabbed a police officer to death and gravely injured Michael Stürzenberger, a prominent German critic of political Islam.
The incident happened in broad daylight in the city’s market square, about 500 metres from the March 3 incident.
