LEIPZIG, Germany — At least two people have been killed and several others injured after a car plowed into a crowd in the eastern German city of Leipzig, local authorities said.
Emergency services workers said about two dozen people were hurt in the incident, which happened at about 4.45 pm on Monday. The area had been full of shoppers and cafe patrons on a warm spring afternoon.
Leipzig Mayor Burkhard Jung said the suspected perpetrator, who authorities have confirmed is a 33-year-old German-born resident of the Leipzig area, was arrested.
“The police have apprehended the suspected assailant,” Jung said, adding that the authorities had the scene in a pedestrian zone under control. “We still don’t really know the motive. We don’t know anything about the perpetrator.”
Michael Kretschmer, the head of the state of Saxony, of which Leipzig is a part, said the suspect previously suffered from mental illness.
“We are utterly stunned by what has happened. A man has driven at high speed into the shopping area. We are currently mourning two deaths, three people with serious injuries and many others who have been injured,” Jung said.
“It is impossible to find the right words to describe this horrific rampage.”
Lepzig police spokesperson, Susanne Luebcke, said that at about 17:35 (15:35 GMT) “a person drove a vehicle across Augustusplatz into Grimmaische Street, continuing on past the market”.
“We are talking about a case of violent rampage here. We are working on the assumption that this was the act of a lone perpetrator and currently have no indications that there is still a threat to public safety,” she said.
The Leipzig’s public prosecutor’s office confirmed the deceased were a 63-year-old woman and a 77-year-old man, both German citizens.
It said they are investigating the suspect for murder and attempted murder, and that there was “no basis on current knowledge” to suggest there was either a religious or political motive involved.
One eyewitness, Susi, told Radio Leipzig that she was with her friend on a bench on Grimmaische Straße at the time of the incident.
“We heard a loud bang,” she said, adding that the driver was going “really fast”.
Susi and her friend took refuge in a jewellery shop nearby. When they came out of the store, she said she saw injured people lying on the ground.
Another eyewitness said the car came to a halt at some bollards and a woman fell from the roof of a car. They said passersby went to administer first aid and about 15 people gathered around the car to apprehend the driver and tried to drag him out through an open window.
The eyewitness said the driver tried to escape through a passenger window, but police arrived at the scene and secured his hands with cable ties.
Germany has seen a series of car ramming attacks in recent years.
In February last year, at least 30 people were injured when a car was driven into a crowd in Munich, more than a week before the country’s federal elections.
Source: Saudi Gazette