At least 20 people have been left injured in Munich after a Mini Cooper ploughed through a crowd of people on Thursday morning, February 13.
The driver, a 26-year-old Afghan man according to Bild, was arrested following the incident. Munich Police took to social media to reassure that the driver was secured on site and ‘currently poses no further danger’.
The incident comes as world defence leaders including US Vice-President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gather in the Bavarian city for a major security conference.
At least 20 people, including a child, were injured after the driver reportedly accelerated into demonstrators linked with the Verdi trade union on Seidlstrasse at around 10:30am.
Eyewitnesses told the German newspaper that two men were in the Mini and shots were fired before the driver was detained. There is currently a major police operation in the , local police have stated on X/Twitter.
On social media, one witness, a German journalist, said the incident left people ‘crying and shaking’ on the ground.
‘A person was lying on the street and a young man was taken away by the police,’ Sandra Demmelhuber said.
‘People were sitting on the ground, crying and shaking. Details still unclear,’ the reporter added.
Ambulances are currently on site as they attempt to aid victims who were hit and police are working on confirming whether the driver had acted deliberately when driving into the rally.
‘Police investigations must now clarify whether he drove into the crowd intentionally or confused the accelerator and brake,’ Bild reported.
A demonstrator told Bayerischer Rundfunk: ‘I was in the demonstration and saw that a man was lying under the car. Then I tried to open the door, but it was locked’.
‘Eventually the police came and shot at the car window, so he retreated and took care of the injured’.
Munich’s mayor Dieter Reiter told Bild: ‘The police chief has just informed me that a vehicle drove into a group of people and unfortunately many people were injured, including children. I am deeply shocked.
‘My thoughts are with the injured.’
