MANNHEIM: A car drove into a crowd of people in the western German city of Mannheim on Monday (Mar 3), killing at least two person, injuring several others and overshadowing carnival celebrations in the region where police had been on alert for security attacks.
Police detained the car’s driver and later said he had acted alone, with no broader threat seen for the public.
People were seen lying on the ground at the scene and at least two were being resuscitated, an eyewitness told Reuters.
Police said two people were killed and 25 injured, 15 of them seriously, citing security sources.
It was unclear whether the driver acted deliberately or if there was any connection to Germany’s carnival celebrations, which culminated on Rose Monday with a number of parades, although not in Mannheim, which held its main event on Sunday (Mar 2).
The Focus Online website reported that the man detained by police was a 40-year-old from the neighbouring state of Rhineland-Palatinate and that he was receiving hospital treatment, citing security sources.
Police declined to comment on the suspect’s identity, saying this was a focus of their investigation.
