Two dead and 'multiple injured' after 'SUV' ploughs into crowd of people in German city
by Asher McShane · LBCBy Asher McShane
A major incident has been declared in the German city of Mannheim after a car reportedly rammed into pedestrians, leaving at least two people dead and several injured.
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Armed police were deployed across the centre of the city and members of the public have been told to stay away.
According to local reports, a black SUV drove at high speed from the city's parade ground towards the water tower into a crowd of people.
There are said to be several seriously injured people and numerous emergency services present.
Two people have now been confirmed dead.
It remains unclear whether this was an accident or an attack according to police.
Local police said in a statement: "There is currently a police operation in Mannheim city center, in the area around Wasserturm/Plankenkopf. Police and rescue services are on their way."
"Further information is not yet available. In this context, there may be temporary traffic disruptions in the city centre."
The driver of the car has now been arrested according to Bild.
One woman said her daughter witnessed the incident who said ‘several people’ had been run over.
She said: "My daughter just wrote to me to say that a car drove into the city center of Mannheim and ran over several people. She is fine, but was very close by... no further information yet."
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Bild, quoting German publication Mannheim24, reported the black SUV drove "from the parade ground towards the water tower into a crowd of people".
"There are said to be several seriously injured people and numerous emergency services."
The city centre should be avoided “on a large scale,” the German police force wrote in the online service X.
It's the latest tragedy to strike the German city, following last year's mass stabbing.
The incident saw several people attacked during a rally hosted by the anti-Islam Citizen's Movement Pax Europe group.
Monday's incident comes weeks after a car drove into a group of pedestrians at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg.
The incident killed at least six people, leaving nearly 70 injured.