MANNHEIM (Germany), March 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A car drove into a crowd of people in the western German city of Mannheim on Monday, killing at least two person, injuring several others and overshadowing carnival celebrations in the region where police had been on alert for security attacks.
Police detained the car’s driver and later said he had acted alone, with no broader threat seen for the public.
People were seen lying on the ground at the scene and at least two were being resuscitated, an eyewitness said.
Police said two people were killed and 25 injured, 15 of them seriously, citing security sources.
It was unclear whether the driver acted deliberately or if there was any connection to Germany’s carnival celebrations, which culminated on Rose Monday with a number of parades, although not in Mannheim, which held its main event on Sunday (March 2).
The man detained by police was a 40-year-old from the neighbouring state of Rhineland-Palatinate and that he was receiving hospital treatment, citing security sources.
Police declined to comment on the suspect’s identity, saying this was a focus of their investigation.
Security has been a key concern in Germany following a string of violent attacks in recent weeks, including deadly car rammings in Magdeburg in December and in Munich last month, as well as a stabbing in Mannheim in May 2024.
Police were on high alert for this year’s carnival parades after social media accounts linked to the Daesh militant group called for attacks on the events in Cologne and Nuremberg.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser cancelled her attendance at the parade in Cologne on Monday, Germany’s biggest, due to the events in Mannheim, a spokesperson for the minister said.
Rose Monday, the culmination of the annual carnival season celebrated in Germany’s mainly Catholic western and southern regions, features parades of floats that often include comical or satirical references to current affairs.
This year’s carnival has included floats featuring US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, tech billionaire Elon Musk and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Dressed in traditional jester costumes and sporting colourful makeup, thousands of partygoers danced through the streets of Cologne, Dusseldorf and other cities in western and southern Germany ahead of the fasting season of Lent. — NNN-AGENCIES
