Nearly 30 hurt in suspected car ramming attack in Munich before German election
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Police said they had detained the driver and did not consider him to be posing any further threat.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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MUNICH - Some 28 people were hurt when a car driven by an Afghan asylum seeker ploughed into a crowd in Munich on Feb 13 in what the state premier said was probably an attack, putting security back in focus before next week’s federal election.
The suspected attack also came hours before international leaders, including US Vice-President J.D. Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, were due to arrive in the southern German city for the Munich Security Conference.
Police said a white car had approached police vehicles that were accompanying a demonstration of striking workers, before speeding up and hitting people.
One shot was fired at the suspect and it was unclear if he was wounded, police added. Officers detained the 24-year-old driver, whose motive was unclear.
“It was probably an attack,” Bavaria state premier Markus Soeder told reporters. Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said the suspect was known to police for drug and shoplifting offences.
Immigration and security issues have dominated campaigning ahead of the Feb 23 election, especially after other violent incidents in recent weeks, with polls showing the centre-right conservatives leading, followed by the far right.
In December 2024, six people were killed in an attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg, and in January, a toddler and adult were killed in a knife attack in the Bavarian town of Aschaffenburg. Immigrants have been arrested over both attacks.
Conservative Friedrich Merz, the front runner to be Germany’s next chancellor, said safety would be his top priority.
“We will enforce law and order. Everyone must feel safe in our country again. Something has to change in Germany,” he posted on X.
Mr Merz has accused Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz of being soft on immigration. In January, Mr Merz even broke a taboo by winning a parliamentary vote on asylum with the support of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Migration dominates campaign
The AfD, in second place in polls, also seized on the Feb 13 incident, with co-leader Alice Weidel focusing on the driver being an Afghan asylum seeker.
“Should this go on forever? Migration turnaround now!” she posted on X.
Mr Scholz said the perpetrator could not hope for leniency.
“He must be punished and he must leave the country,” said Mr Scholz, according to news outlet Focus Online. “If it was an attack, we must take consistent action against possible perpetrators with all means of justice.”
About four hours after the incident, the street where it took place was strewn with items of clothing and bags, a shoe and a pair of glasses. Police set up a gathering point for witnesses in the Loewenbraeukeller, one of Munich’s oldest beer halls.
A passer-by said he witnessed the incident from a window of a neighbouring office building. The car, a Mini Cooper, had threaded its way between the police vehicles and then accelerated, he said.
Another witness said she had seen part of the incident from a building. The car had accelerated and hit several people in the crowd, she added.
People in the crowd were taking part in the strike held by the Verdi public sector workers’ union. Its leader, Mr Frank Werneke, expressed shock but said he had no further details.
Bavaria’s Interior Minister said he did not suspect there was a connection to the Munich Security Conference, which starts on Feb 14. REUTERS
