Car rams into crowd at rally in Germany

An Afghan national who was driving the vehicle has been detained on suspicion the attack was deliberate, police said

At least 28 people have been injured after a car plowed into a crowd during a union rally in Munich, Germany, local media have reported. According to initial reports citing eyewitness, the car, a Mini Copper, was deliberately driven into the crowd of some 1,000 demonstrators gathered on Munich’s Seidlstrasse.

The Munich police department confirmed the incident in a statement on X. “A vehicle drove into a group of people. We have strong forces on site,” the statement read, without providing details on the number of injured. A further statement claimed officers had been able to detain the driver and that he “currently poses no further danger.”

In a later statement, police said the driver involved in the accident is a 24-year-old man of Afghan origin. Media reports claim he is an asylum seeker who was previously investigated for drugs and theft. Commenting on the incident at a press-conference, Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Soder said it is “suspected to be a deliberate attack.” Police have launched a probe to determine whether the suspected attacker intentionally drove into the crowd or confused the accelerator and brake by accident.