Munich car attack LIVE: Police shoot at Mini 'driven by Afghan asylum-seeker' after it rams into crowd injuring dozens

Yahoo

13-02-2025

At least 28 people have been injured after a car veered into a crowd of people in the German city of Munich.
Two of the people injured are thought to be in a serious condition, with many more being treated on scene for their injuries.
Bavarian governor Markus Söder said that 'it is suspected to be an attack'.
Police said the driver was 'secured'. It later emerged the suspect is believed to be a 24-year-old Afghan asylum-seeker.
It comes as US Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were due to arrive in Munich later on Thursday ahead of a major security conference starting on Friday.
Follow the latest updates below...
14:07 , Tamara Davison
Germany's Interior Minister, Joachim Herrmann, suggested that today's target was actually a 'coincidence'.
However, the investigations into a motive are ongoing.
Herrmann said: "At the moment, we are actually assuming that the target group here, that the victims from the ranks of this Verdi demonstration, were more of a coincidence."
He added: "But of course that also has to be investigated."
13:59 , Tamara Davison
Imam Benjamin Idriz, Chairman of the Munich Forum for Islam, said, according to a local outlet: "Our thoughts are with the injured, their families and everyone affected by this tragedy."
"We condemn any kind of violence in the strongest possible terms - it has no place in our society."
Idriz added: "In difficult times, we come together even more closely."
13:50
Three university students have described people sprinting for cover as the suspected attack unfolded.
They came outside from a coffee shop, they told the BBC, when they heard shouting.
They told the broadcaster were confronted with a "distressing" scene and saw "lots of people running for shelter".
One student, who didn't wanted to give her name, says "it's obviously very unsettling. I can't concentrate on anything else."
13:18 , Matt Watts
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called this morning's car-ramming incident a "terrible attack".
He said the suspect, if guilty, 'cannot assume that they will be able to remain here".
They "must be punished and must leave the country", he added.
Deputy police chief Christian Huber has said the suspect is a 24-year-old Afghan national on asylum status.
"The government will be starting flights back to Afghanistan despite the lack of diplomatic ties," Scholz added.
"And although this is complicated because you can't fly them there directly, this is something that we will continue to do, not just as a one-off, but as a continuous thing."
National elections take place this month in Germany,with immigration a major issue and far-right party AfD doing well in polls.
12:55 , Tamara Davison
Claudia Weber, the Munich Verdi managing director, told BILD that she was 'shocked.'
Speaking to the outlet, Weber said: "It's all so unbelievable. We are totally shocked and are incredibly afraid for our colleagues who were part of the demonstration. We heard that the car drove straight into the demonstration on purpose. Hopefully there will be no deaths."
12:46 , Tamara Davison
Markus Söder, Minister-President of Bavaria, has shared a statement on social media alongside images of the scene.
He said: 'It is simply terrible and hurts so much. A serious attack occurred in #München. An Afghan citizen drove a car into a crowd and injured many people, some very seriously. We feel for all the victims and pray for the injured and all their families.'
Es ist einfach furchtbar und schmerzt so sehr. In #München hat sich ein schwerer Anschlag ereignet. Ein afghanischer Staatsbürger fuhr mit einem Auto in eine Menschenmenge und verletzte viele Menschen teils sehr schwer. Wir fühlen mit allen Opfern und beten für die Verletzten und… pic.twitter.com/G19cnFMwqk
— Markus Söder (@Markus_Soeder) February 13, 2025
12:40 , Tamara Davison
Christian Huber explained that a police car was travelling with the rally.
He said: "A vehicle approached and came up behind the police vehicle. It then moved to overtake, accelerated and reached the end of the rally...
"One shot was fired at the vehicle. The attacker was arrested. We currently estimate that we have at least 28 people injured, some seriously.
"The exact number has not yet been determined. As regards the attacker, what we can say is that he is a 24-year-old Afghan, with asylum seeker status."
12:33 , Tamara Davison
"We react cautiously to every attack like this, but I can also tell you that our determination is growing. This is not the first case and who knows what will happen next," said Baravian politician Markus Söder.
12:28 , Tamara Davison
Police officers confirmed that a 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker was behind the wheel of the car.
Reports suggest that the car sped up and hit people during the Ver.di trade union demonstration.
Officers reportedly fired a gunshot at the vehicle, but it's unclear if this injured the driver.
12:12 , Tamara Davison
Munich Police has revealed a number of details on social media about the incident.
They confirmed in a post that the driver was a 24-year-old Afghan.
'The suspect is a 24-year-old man of Afghan nationality. He drove a car into a gathering in the Seidlstrasse area from behind. According to current information, 28 people were injured, some seriously,' they said.
11:57 , Tamara Davison
Bavarian governor Markus Söder said that 'it is suspected to be an attack'.
The driver of the vehicle is currently in police custody and is thought to be of no further threat.
11:48 , Tamara Davison
BILD is now reporting that 28 people were injured in the Munich incident.
At least two are in serious condition, with reports claiming that a child also had to be resuscitated at the scene.
There is still no official confirmation about whether this incident was deliberate or not.
11:43 , Tamara Davison
Nils Schmidbauer, a spokesman for Verdi Bayern, said, 'It is possible that participants are among the injured," referring to people taking part in the union march.
"First of all, we are with the victims and their families."
The demonstration, which was meant to welcome several hundred people, was cancelled.
11:37 , Tamara Davison
Police are currently investigating the scene after a Mini veered into demonstrators taking part in a union rally.
Images from Munich appear to depict belongings strewn across the main road.
Other images also appeared to show a number of injured people lying on the ground.
11:27 , Tamara Davison
Munich Police have confirmed on social media that they have the driver of the vehicle.
It appears people online were asking if there were others involved, but the police said they could not confirm this.
Wie berichtet handelt es sich bei der gesicherten Person um den Fahrer des Pkw.Es kursieren Spekulationen über weitere Beteiligte. Dies können wir nach derzeitigem Erkenntnisstand nicht bestätigen.#muc1302 pic.twitter.com/PjOu1L1bqr
— Polizei München (@PolizeiMuenchen) February 13, 2025
11:25 , Tamara Davison
A wide-scale operation is currently underway in Munich today. Here's what we know so far:
A silver Mini ploughed into a group of people during a trade union demonstration
At least 20 people have been injured, two of them are in a serious condition
Children were also among those injured in the incident
There's been no official statement about whether the incident was deliberate and no formal identification of the driver yet
An investigation is underway, and people are being urged to stay away from the scene.
11:17 , Tamara Davison
No official identification has been made of the person behind the wheel of the Mini, which hit a crowd of people today in Munich.
Although some reports claim police believe it wasn't an accident, there's been no formal confirmation of this either.
The incident comes ten days before a highly contentious snap election in Germany, where the far-right AfD is expected to make considerable gains.
11:12 , Tamara Davison
BR is reporting that police officers on site don't believe that the incident was an accident.
No official statement has been released about the cause of the incident so far.
11:09 , Tamara Davison
At least two of the people caught up in the Munich incident are said to be 'seriously injured', according to BILD.
11:03 , Tamara Davison
Videos from the scene appear to show people in hi-vis jackets gathered around what looks like people lying on the ground in Munich.
Verdi Demo in München.Auto rast in die Demo. pic.twitter.com/cLBHaDebfi
— AlternativeMitte (@ZamirSh11842484) February 13, 2025
11:02 , Tamara Davison
The Bavarian capital will see heavy security in the coming days because the three-day Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering of international foreign and security policy officials, opens on Friday.
10:59 , Tamara Davison
Mayor Dieter Reiter said he was "deeply shocked" by the incident.
He said that children were among those injured.
10:57 , Tamara Davison
Police representatives speaking to BR reportedly said that they were looking into whether there was a link between the demonstration and the incident.
There is currently no information about whether the incident was deliberate or accidental.
10:54 , Tamara Davison
Munich Police confirmed that the number of injured has increased to 20.
They added in a statement: 'We do not yet have any information about the severity of the injuries. That is why rescue helicopters, among other things, are in use.'
10:50 , Tamara Davison
Munich's fire brigade is urging people to stay away from the area.
Local reports are suggesting that as many as 20 people may have been injured.
They said in a statement: 'A major police, fire service and rescue operation is currently underway at the corner of Dachauer Strasse and Seidlstrasse. A car drove into a crowd of people, several people were injured. There is currently no further danger. Please avoid the area.'
An der Dachauer Straße Ecke Seidlstraße läuft derzeit ein größerer Polizei-, Feuerwehr- und Rettungsdiensteinsatz. Ein Pkw ist in eine Menschenmenge gefahren, mehrere verletzte Personen. Derzeit besteht keine weitere Gefahr. Bitte Bereich großräumig umfahren.#WirFürMünchen pic.twitter.com/NKHDohllGE
— Feuerwehr München (@BFMuenchen) February 13, 2025
10:47 , Tamara Davison
Reports reveal that the car drove into a crowd of people gathered for a Ver.di demonstration.
Ver.di is a German trade union that represents a number of workers and industries.
City employees that are part of the union were on strike today, asking for an 8% increase in wages.
10:36 , Tamara Davison
Munich Police are calling on people who witnessed the incident to come forward.
'We have set up a witness collection point in the Löwenbräukeller on Stiglmaierplatz. If you can provide information about the events, please contact them,' they said on social media.
10:33 , Tamara Davison
Roads have been cordoned off, and there are lots of police officers on site in downtown Munich.
Police have said: 'Please avoid the area so that the emergency services can work unhindered.'
No information has been released yet about the driver.
10:28 , Tamara Davison
An eyewitness told BR they saw the car drive into the crowd.
"I saw that a man was lying under the car. Then I tried to open the door, but it was locked," the eyewitness told the outlet.
The person then claims police arrived on site and shot through the windows.
10:21 , Tamara Davison
According to the German outlet BILD, a car reportedly accelerated and then drove into demonstrators on Seidlstrasse.
The outlet added that it's unclear at this point whether the incident was deliberate or accidental.
10:19 , Tamara Davison
Social media users say the car reportedly drove into a crowd gathered for a rally organised by the trade union, Verdi.
Images from the scene featured a crowd of emergency responders surrounding a smashed up Mini.
Es gab einen Vorfall in München bei der Verdi-Kundgebung. Ein Auto fuhr in den Demozug. Es liegt ein Mensch auf der Straße und ein junger Mann wurde von der Polizei abgeführt. Menschen sitzend weinend und zitternd am Boden. Einzelheiten noch unklar. @BR24 pic.twitter.com/9N3YvxbJ2O
— Sandra Demmelhuber (@SDemmelhuber) February 13, 2025
10:14 , Tamara Davison
Munich's police force has confirmed that they are on-site, and several people have been injured.
Police also added they were able to detain the driver and did not consider him to pose any further threat.
An der Einsatzörtlichkeit ist ein Fahrzeug in eine Personengruppe gefahren.Mehrere Personen wurden hierbei verletzt.Wir sind mit starken Kräften vor Ort. pic.twitter.com/ulAfCQ93GL
— Polizei München (@PolizeiMuenchen) February 13, 2025