Latest news with #RomeoSchüssler
Euronews
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Mannheim car attack suspect a German with history of mental illness, say investigators
A 40-year-old German from the nearby state of Rhineland-Palatinate has been detained in relation to the car ramming attack on Monday which killed at least two people and injured 10 others. During a press conference on Monday night, investigators said that the were indications the suspect was mentally ill, with this being the focus of their investigation. He has now been charged with murder and attempted murder, according to Chief Public Prosecutor Romeo Schüssler. The man has previous convictions, according to Schüssler, including one for drunk driving. He was also convicted of a hate speech-related crime in 2018 after he commented on a picture on Facebook, in what was adjudged to have been a politically motivated right-wing crime. The suspected perpetrator was taken to hospital after shooting himself in the mouth with a blank gun, according to investigators. He is currently being treated and is in a stable condition. Local media have reported the man's name is "Alexander S." The two victims of the attack have been identified as an 83-year-old woman and a 54-year-old man, while the number of injured has risen to 11, up from the previously reported 10. Friedrich Merz, who is likely to become Germany's next chancellor, wrote on X that 'the incident — as well as the terrible acts of the past few months — is an urgent reminder that we must do everything we can to prevent such acts.' Outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote that 'we mourn with the families of the victims of a senseless act of violence." The perpetrator had at around noon driven into people on Paradeplatz, a pedestrian street in downtown Mannheim. Local media reported a carnival market was taking place, which meant there were more people in the area than usual. The car used in the apparent attack has since been identified as a dark-coloured or black compact SUV or a similar vehicle. It "raced" at high speed and struck several pedestrians in the main shopping street, according to reports. Mannheim is a city of about 300,000 people located some 80 kilometres south of Frankfurt. Several German cities are set to hold parades this week to mark the country's carnival season. While the parade in Mannheim took place on Sunday, the city centre was still bustling with activity on Monday. Heidelberg, Schwetzingen and Brühl — all in Baden-Württemberg — have cancelled their carnival celebrations on Tuesday. The incident comes just weeks after two people — a mother and a child — were killed in a car ramming attack in Munich.
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Yahoo
Evidence of mental illness in driver who rammed into Mannheim crowd
There is evidence that the driver of a car who fatally rammed into a crowd in the south-western German city of Mannheim on Monday is afflicted by a psychological disorder, the senior public prosecutor in Mannheim said. The man, who is in hospital with injuries, is being investigated for murder and an attempted murder, said Romeo Schüssler. Two people were killed and others were injured when the driver, a 40-year-old German, ploughed the car into the crowd on Monday afternoon. Law enforcement authorities said they do not believe the man had a political motive. Even so, Mannheim police president Ulrike Schäfer said the driver targeted his victims and described the car-ramming as a targeted attack. The man shot himself in the mouth with a blank firing pistol before police had taken him fully into custody, the president of the State Criminal Police Office, Andreas Stenger, said. His condition in hospital was described as stable. Authorities said the man had a criminal record, including an assault for which he served a short prison sentence over 10 years ago.
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Yahoo
Two dead, 11 injured after car rams into crowd in Germany's Mannheim
A 40-year-old man drove a car into a crowd in the south-western German city of Mannheim on Monday, killing two people and injuring 11 others in what authorities are calling a targeted attack. The driver, a German national who is in hospital with injuries, is being investigated for murder and attempted murder, Mannheim's senior public prosecutor Romeo Schüssler said. Law enforcement officials have ruled out a political motive but said that the man deliberately targeted his victims. Schüssler said there was evidence suggesting he suffers from a psychological disorder. Andreas Stenger, president of the State Criminal Police Office, said that the driver shot himself in the mouth with a blank-firing pistol as he was being taken into custody. His condition in hospital is stable. Authorities said the man has a criminal record, including an assault conviction that led to a short prison sentence more than a decade ago, as well as a case drunk driving. The most recent crime was a hate speech offence from 2018. He made a comment on Facebook and was given to a fine. Schüssler said the man has worked as a landscape gardener in the past but that it was not known whether he is currently employed. He is single and has no children and no partner, Schüssler said. Car sped down street in city centre The attack took place in the afternoon at Paradeplatz, a busy city square in central Mannheim, a city of approximately 320,000 people that lies about 80 kilometres south of Frankfurt. Witnesses reported seeing a car speeding down Planken street, a major shopping thoroughfare, before striking pedestrians near the square. Emergency services responded swiftly, and Mannheim University Hospital activated a disaster and emergency plan to treat the injured. Authorities said on Monday evening that an 83-year-old woman and a 54-year-old man were killed, with 11 others injured, some of them seriously. No children are known to have been injured, Stenger said. Attack during Carnival season The incident occurred as Germany marked its Carnival season, with a market of food stalls and rides set up along Planken street. In response to the attack, Mannheim authorities cancelled several planned Carnival events, including parades in the suburbs of Feudenheim, Neckarau, and Sandhofen. The nearby city of Heidelberg also scrapped its Carnival procession. Mannheim Lord Mayor Christian Specht ordered flags on municipal buildings to be lowered to half-mast. "This horrific, inhuman attack on peaceful people has deeply shocked us all," he said. A string of deadly car attacks The Mannheim car-ramming follows several recent deadly attacks in Germany involving vehicles. In December, six people were killed when a driver ploughed through a Christmas market in Magdeburg. Just last month, a man rammed a car into a group of demonstrators in Munich, killing a woman and a child. Mannheim itself was the site of violence last year when a suspected Islamist stabbed five participants at a rally organized by the anti-Islam Pax Europa movement. A police officer later died from his injuries. Politicians offer condolences German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed his "deepest sympathy" to the families of the victims. "It is terrible what they have to go through," he said in a statement posted on X. He also wished the injured a speedy recovery and thanked police and emergency responders for their swift action. Friedrich Merz, Germany's presumptive next chancellor, also reacted to the attack. "My thoughts are with the victims and their families," he wrote on X. "The incident — like the terrible acts of the past few months — is a stark reminder that we must do everything we can to prevent such acts. Germany must become a safe country again." "To all people in Mannheim, especially to the relatives of the victims of this act of violence, to the German people: France is on your side," President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X in both French and German.
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Yahoo
Evidence of mental illness in driver who rammed into Mannheim crowd
There is evidence that the driver of a car who fatally rammed into a crowd in the south-western German city of Mannheim on Monday is afflicted by a psychological disorder, the senior public prosecutor in Mannheim said. The man, who is in hospital with injuries, is being investigated for murder and an attempted murder, said Romeo Schüssler. Two people were killed and others were injured when the driver, a 40-year-old German, ploughed the car into the crowd on Monday afternoon. Law enforcement authorities said they do not believe the man had a political motive. Even so, Mannheim police president Ulrike Schäfer said the driver targeted his victims and described the car-ramming as a targeted attack. The man shot himself in the mouth with a blank firing pistol before police had taken him fully into custody, the president of the State Criminal Police Office, Andreas Stenger, said. His condition in hospital was described as stable. Authorities said the man had a criminal record, including an assault for which he served a short prison sentence over 10 years ago.
