Mannheim attack latest: One dead and several injured after car rams into crowd in German city

 

Following the attack, the city of Heidelberg said it was canceling its carnival parade on Tuesday.

"The terrible images from Mannheim are shocking and our thoughts are with the victims and their families," Mayor Eckart Würzner said in a translated statement. "This is the second time within a year that our neighboring city has suffered such a terrible act of violence — in a situation like this, it was inconceivable for us to celebrate a joyful carnival procession here in Heidelberg."

 

An eyewitness reported seeing a driver knocking over several pedestrians in Planken, the main shopping street in the city of around 300,000, local outlet Mannheimer Morgen reported. Heavily armed officers are in Paradeplatz and blocking the bridges near Ludwigshaden.

 

The interior ministry at Baden-Württemberg has said the incident is a “life threatening situation” via a warning app alert, and local residents are being advised by police to avoid the city centre. Newspaper Bild reports that a black SUV was involved in the incident, after driving from Paradeplatz to Wasserturm.

 

A spokesperson for Mannheim police said: “There is currently a police operation in Mannheim city center, in the area around Wasserturm/Plankenkopf.”

 

While it is not yet clear whether the incident was an accident or intentional, it comes after a car was driven into a crowd in Munich last month in a suspected attack.

 

 German police confirm one person dead

Large law enforcement operation underway

‘One perpetrator’ arrested: police 

 Police warn of ‘life-threatening situation’ in Mannheim

 

Full report: One dead after car driven into pedestrians in Mannheim weeks after Munich attack

 

At least one person was killed and several injured after a car rammed into a crowd on a busy shopping street in the German city of Mannheim, police said.

 

One person has been arrested following the incident on a pedestrianised street, where a market had been erected to mark the carnival season. Several people were seen lying on the ground and two casualties were helped by emergency workers, an eyewitness told Reuters.

 

My colleague Alex Croft has more details in this report:

 

 

One dead after car driven into pedestrians in German city Mannheim weeks 

 

Read More Here:    Independent