MUNICH: At least 30 people were hurt when a car driven by an Afghan asylum seeker ploughed into a crowd in Munich on Thursday in what the state premier said was probably an attack, putting security back in focus before next week’s federal election.
The suspected attack also came hours before international leaders including U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy were due to arrive in the southern German city for the Munich Security Conference.
Police said a white car had approached police vehicles that were accompanying a demonstration of striking workers, before speeding up and hitting people. One shot was fired at the suspect and it was unclear if he was wounded, police added.
Officers detained the 24-year-old driver. His motive was unclear.
“It was probably an attack,” Bavaria state premier Markus Soeder told reporters. Bavarian interior minister Joachim Herrmann said the suspect had been known to police for drug and shoplifting offences.
Immigration and security issues have dominated campaigning ahead of the February 23 election, especially after other violent incidents in recent weeks, with polls showing the centre-right conservatives leading followed by the far right.
In December, six people were killed in an attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg and last month a toddler and adult were killed in a knife attack in the Bavarian town of Aschaffenburg. Immigrants have been arrested over both attacks.–Reuters
