Two people were killed and several injured after an attacker drove his car into a crowd on a busy shopping street in Leipzig on Monday afternoon.
The incident happened on Grimmaische Street, a shopping street that connects several landmarks with Leipzig’s market square.
German tabloid Bild reported that the vehicle, a VW Taigo, had been traveling at a high speed, while local broadcaster Radio Leipzig reported a Volkswagen SUV with a person on top of the vehicle speeding through a pedestrian zone. The driver reportedly took off on foot but was apprehended by police
“The vehicle and driver were apprehended shortly afterwards and no longer pose a danger. Emergency services have declared a mass casualty incident, and police are on the scene with a large number of officers,” a spokesman for Leipzig police told BILD.
Leipzig mayor Burkhard Jung confirmed two people had died, adding: “We still don’t really know the motivation. We don’t know anything about the perpetrator.”
Leipzig fire service chief Axel Schuh also gave a death toll of two. Two people were also seriously injured and two others were “affected,” he said.
Germany has faced a string of car-ramming attacks in recent years.
In December 2024, at least six people were killed and hundreds wounded in a car-ramming attack on the Christmas market in the eastern city of Magdeburg.
There have also been similar attacks in Munich and Berlin.
This is a developing story.
