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A car hit a group of people in the southwestern German city, resulting in at least two dead and several injured. A police operation is ongoing.
At least one person was killed after a car drove into a group of people in a central pedestrian area in the German city of Mannheim on Monday, police confirmed.Another person has since succumbed to injuries, according to national news agency dpa, citing security sources, bringing the death toll to two. Initially, local media in the southwestern city reported witnesses, including a dpa reporter, saw a body covered with a sheet. Multiple people are believed to be injured, with the media reporting the number could be as high as 25. The suspect has been apprehended during a search, authorities said. The driver is a 40-year-old German citizen from the nearby state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Baden-Württemberg State Interior Minister Thomas Strobl told dpa. Stobl also confirmed the second death in a statement to AFP.A police operation in Mannheim’s city centre and Paradenplatz pedestrian street where the incident took place continued on Monday afternoon. However, the police said in a statement at 4 pm CET that there was no danger to the public and “no evidence of a second perpetrator”.Earlier in the day, warning apps reported a life-threatening situation, domestic media said. The Mannheim University Hospital has gone into “disaster response” mode, it said in a statement. At least three seriously injured people — two adults and a child — are being treated there.Earlier on Monday, the public were being asked to avoid downtown Mannheim “and to take a wide detour”, with a large law enforcement presence, including a police helicopter reported in the area, also implementing traffic checks on nearby bridges.The Mannheim police had also issued an appeal, warning of “numerous fake news in circulation in connection with the crime” and asking citizens to refrain from sharing videos of the incident and only inform themselves through official channels.The car used in the apparent attack has since been identified as a dark-coloured or black compact SUV or a similar vehicle. It “raced” at high speed and struck several pedestrians in the main shopping street, according to reports.Mannheim is a city of about 300,000 people located some 80 kilometres south of Frankfurt. Several German cities are set to hold parades this week to mark the country’s carnival season. While the parade in Mannheim took place on Sunday, the city centre was still bustling with activity on Monday.Heidelberg, Schwetzingen and Brühl — all in Baden-Württemberg — have cancelled their carnival celebrations on Tuesday.The incident comes just weeks after two people — a mother and a child — were killed in a car ramming attack in Munich.Last December, six people were killed and more than 200 injured when a car slammed into a Christmas market in the eastern city of Magdeburg.
