A driver plowed a car into pedestrians at a street carnival in Germany early Monday, killing two and injuring at least ten others — five of them seriously — in an area on high alert for possible terrorist attacks, according to police and reports.
The driver crashed an SUV “at speed” into a pedestrian zone in the city of Mannheim in the state of Baden-Wurttemberg — before getting out and running off, police sources told Bild.
At least one person is feared dead after a car reportedly rammed into pedestrians in the German city of Mannheim AFP via Getty ImagesVideos shared online showed multiple bodies strewn on the ground as first responders attempted to resuscitate some of the most seriously injured.
A second clip shows armed police chasing a suspect, who was arrested soon after the carnage, according to authorities.
The suspect is a 40-year-old German man from the neighbouring state of Rhineland-Palatinate who did not appear to be politically or religiously motivated, officials said.
Broadcaster SWR reported that the suspect had experienced psychological issues.
“At this time, we have no indications of an extremist or religious background regarding the specific motivation for the act,” Interior Minister of the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg Thomas Strobl told reporters.
“The motivation may rather be rooted in the perpetrator’s own personal circumstances. However, this is the subject of ongoing investigations.”
It was unclear whether the driver deliberately targeted the Rose Monday carnival celebrations in the region — where police had been on alert for possible terrorism following a string of recent attacks.
Police, however, assured that there were no “indications of a second perpetrator,” and there was no more danger to the public.
“It is terrible here, nobody knows what happened, you only see injured people and the dead, and you don’t know what to do,” one eyewitness told Mannheimer Morgen of the carnage.
The identities of those killed had not yet been released late Monday, nor had the details of the injuries.
A heavy police response was scrambled to the city center on Monday. AP
Video shared on social media purportedly shows police hunting for the driver. X/pblzarrSocial media accounts linked to the Islamic State militant group had earlier called for attacks on events in Cologne and Nuremberg, officials said.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser canceled her attendance at Monday’s parade in Cologne — the country’s biggest — due to the events in Mannheim, a spokesperson for the minister said.
Rose Monday is the culmination of the annual carnival season celebrated in Germany’s mainly Catholic western and southern regions.
With Post wires
