A vehicle has driven into a crowd in Mannheim, Germany and the police are investigating the incident, which has raised concerns of a potential further attack. The two bridges in the direction of Ludwigshafen have been closed by the authorities and a suspect has reportedly been arrested, allegedly armed. No information is available yet on the number of casualties.
According to local reports, a black SUV allegedly drove at high speed from the Paradeplatz towards the Wasserturm, striking a group of pedestrians in the city center, which is currently hosting a carnival market. The local newspaper, Mannheimer Morgen, has reported a fatality and a stall owner was quoted as saying, “It’s terrible here, no one knows what happened, you just see the injured and the dead and you don’t know what to do.”
The intensive care unit of the University Hospital has reportedly been put on high alert and the city center has been completely cordoned off. The Baden-Württemberg State Ministry of the Interior has advised citizens to avoid the area through a warning app and it is still unclear whether the planned carnival events will be canceled.
This is the third such incident in a few months and if it is found to be a similar attack to the one in Munich, it may be met with disapproval from many people, including the German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, who recently shared a video on her social media account.