Dozens injured in Munich car ramming as city prepares for high-stakes security conference – CNN
Source: CNN
A car plowed into demonstrators in Munich on Thursday injuring at least 36 in a suspected attack, days ahead of national elections and shortly before world leaders were due in the southern German city for a high-level security conference.
The suspect is a 24-year-old asylum-seeker from Afghanistan who was arrested at the scene, police said.
Authorities believe he may have had Islamist extremist motives. “We could see a certain Islamist orientation,” Munich police spokesperson Guido Limmer told journalists Friday, following the seizure of the suspect’s cell phone and other electronic devices.
Among the wounded, two are gravely injured including a child, Munich police vice-president Christian Huber told a news conference Friday. A further eight are severely injured and 10 are moderately or severely injured. Huber did not rule out that the number of injured could rise if more people are made known to authorities.
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Police will investigate how far along the suspect was in his asylum application, spokesperson Thomas Schelshorn told CNN, adding that officers will conduct witness interviews and forensics “to get a picture at the end of what could have been behind this.”
The incident comes during an election campaign that has seen immigration and security emerge as key issues after several similar attacks.
Authorities launched a major operation near the city’s central train station following the attack, a spokesperson said. Police detained the driver and did not consider him a further threat, the force said in a post on X.
Public prosecutor Gabriele Tilmann said they were in the early stages of monitoring his online activity. He was active on Instagram and described himself there as a “body building athlete.” He had no previous criminal records, police said.
Local security measures had been bolstered due to the conference in the city, authorities said, with at least 5,000 police officers on duty this weekend. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US Vice President JD Vance are among those attending.
The car hit a group of protesters staging a demonstration linked to a strike organized by the Verdi union, according to local broadcaster BR24. Verdi is the key trade union for Germany’s public sector.
Those on the picket line were employees for local childcare services, according to the union, which organized the rally after negotiations for federal and local public service wages had stalled. Verdi said it had no further information on the incident.
Eyewitnesses told Reuters that the car, a cream Mini Cooper, was seen weaving between police vehicles and picking up pace before ramming several people.
“It seemed to me that the car accelerated before it drove into the crowd,” said Alexa Graefe.
One person said police shot at the car. “I saw that a man was lying underneath the car,” the eyewitness told German program BR24. “Then I tried to open the door, but it was locked.”
Eventually, the eyewitness retreated and turned to those injured, BR24 reported.
Marcus Söder, the Bavarian governor, described the suspected attack as “simply terrible,” adding that “something has to change in Germany, and quickly.”
“We feel for the victims and hope very much that everyone will make it,” he told journalists on Thursday. “We all regret what has just happened here.”
Dieter Reiter, the mayor of the Bavarian city said he was was shocked by the incident, German newspaper Bild reported. “The police president has informed me that a vehicle drove into a group of people and many people were injured,” said Reiter. “I am deeply shaken. My thoughts are with the injured.”
Germany has been roiled by divisive rhetoric over the country’s immigration policy, in a nation expected to swing to the right in national elections later this month.
The country’s parliament rejected an opposition draft law cracking down on immigration policy in January. Days earlier, the opposition Christian Democrats (CDU) were accused of breaking an agreement against cooperating with the far-right.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, has gained momentum after capitalizing on growing anti-immigration sentiment among some voters – following a string of deadly attacks allegedly perpetrated by migrants last winter.
AfD party co-leader, Alice Weidel, referred to the suspect as a “terror-driver.” Police in Munich have not declared the suspect’s motive is terror-related.
“The terror-driver from Munich was a police-known Afghan asylum-seeker,” Weidel said in a post on X
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