BY OSABUOHIEN VIVIAN ROSE
Two people have died and 11 have been injured after a car was deliberately rammed into a crowd in Mannheim, in western Germany before the driver shot himself.
Among those hurt, five people are in a serious condition after a black vehicle hit pedestrians on Monday, according to German police and prosecutors.
At a news conference, reporters were told the driver intentionally rammed his car into people and is being investigated for murder and attempted murder.
They said the man shot himself in the mouth when he was arrested and is in a stable condition in hospital. Investigators are examining the possibility he may have psychological issues.
The state’s interior minister Thomas Strobl said a 40-year-old man from the nearby state of Rhineland-Palatinate had been detained.
“As far as the specific motivation of the crime is concerned, we have no indication of an extremist or religious background at the moment,” he said.
Police spokesperson Stefan Wilhelm said the incident unfolded on Monday at around 12.15pm local time in a pedestrian area of Mannheim’s Paradeplatz.
Armed police and forensic investigators were seen examining a black vehicle with smashed windows near the city’s Rhine bridge.
Local officials added that the State Criminal Police Office (LKA) would be leading the investigation in cooperation with the Mannheim Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Police initially described the incident as “a life-threatening deployment situation” in Mannheim, in the area of Wasserturm/Plankenkopf.
An alert was issued on the Katwarn smartphone app – used in major emergencies – telling people in Mannheim to avoid the city centre due to a big police deployment.
Earlier Mannheim University Hospital said it was prepared for a possible “mass casualty incident”, implementing its disaster and emergency plan, and increasing intensive care capacity, German news agency DPA reported.
Eight trauma teams have been made available – for both adults and children, according to the agency.
“Postponable operations that had not yet begun were immediately removed from the operation plan in order to create additional operating capacity,” the hospital said in a statement.
Crowds have been gathering in cities across Germany, including its Rhineland region, for parades to mark the country’s carnival season.
Police were on high alert after social media accounts connected to Islamic extremist groups called for attacks on events planned in Cologne and Nuremberg.
This incident follows other similar ones in recent weeks — a deadly car attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg in December and another in Munich last month.
With a population of 326,000 people, Mannheim is about 50 miles south of Frankfurt.
