Police spokesperson Stefan Wilhelm said that one person was killed and “several” others were injured when a driver drove a black SUV into a group of people in Paradeplatz, a pedestrianized street in downtown Mannheim
“We can confirm that one perpetrator was arrested,” he said. “We can’t yet give information on whether there were further perpetrators.”
Paradeplatz, a major square in the downtown area, lies at the end of a pedestrianized street in Mannheim, which has a population of 326,000 and lies 85 kilometres south of Frankfurt.
Police are appealing to the public to avoid the area.
The incident occurred as crowds gathered in cities across western Germany’s Rhineland for parades to mark the carnival season.
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 are on high alert for this year’s carnival parades after social media accounts connected to the Islamic State (IS) group called for attacks on the events in Cologne and Nuremberg.
(FRANCE 24 with AP and Reuters)
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