Two dead after car strikes crowd in German city, police say

Rescue workers stand next to a damaged car in Leipzig, Germany, on Monday, after it crashed into several people. The license plate was blurred for legal reasons. (Sebastian Willnow/picture alliance/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

At least two people have been killed after a car drove through a crowd in the eastern German city of Leipzig, local police said Monday.

Two other people were severely injured and have been taken to hospital, while 20 more have been “affected,” said Axel Schuh, the head of Leipzig’s fire brigade. A large emergency service presence is at the scene, Schuh said.

Later Monday, Leipzig Mayor Burkhard Jung said in an update that a third person was also severely injured.

Meanwhile, German police said the suspected driver of the car, who is male, has been arrested and “no longer poses a threat.” The suspect is a 33-year-old German citizen, according to Armin Schuster, the interior minister of Saxony state, where Leipzig is located.

Officials suggested the incident was likely deliberate. Schuster did not rule out mental health issues as a possible contributing factor when asked by reporters on Monday.

The public prosecutor’s office has launched proceedings on two counts of attempted murder and two counts of murder, authorities said.

“A police operation is currently underway in downtown Leipzig,” police posted on X. “Please keep emergency routes clear and follow the instructions of the emergency personnel on site.”

Jung said the motive of the suspected perpetrator is unclear at this stage. “There is no further danger,” he said.

Germany has been rocked by a string of deadly car ramming attacks in recent years.

In March last year, a car-ramming incident in the southwestern city of Mannheim killed an 83-year-old woman and a 54-year-old man, while other people were injured.

That followed another car-ramming just one month before.

Also, in December 2024, several people were killed and more than 200 injured when a car plowed into a crowd at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg.

By Billy Stockwell, Benjamin Brown, CNN