At least 20 people were injured, some seriously and others possibly fatally when a driver ploughed a car into a trade union rally in Munich, Germany on Thursday morning.
UPDATE 1200 GMT — 28 Injured, suspect is Afghan ‘asylum seeker’
Following Bild‘s earlier claim of internal police information that the man held by police over the driving of a car into a trade union demonstration was an Afghan, this fact has now been confirmed by the Bavarian interior minister Joachim Herrmann. He said the Kabul-born Afghan “asylum seeker” was already known to police for drug crimes and theft.
The number of people known injured has also been increased to 28 and Herrmann said it is being treated as a presumed deliberate attack. That the car accelerated into the protest, having passed a police car, and that a police officer shot at the vehicle was also confirmed.
Distressingly, images from the scene show a baby stroller upended near to where the car came to a halt.
What is now being called an attack by the authorities comes just one day before the Munich Security Conference is due to take place in the city a short drive away. Attended by global leaders, the event is seen as a major meeting for security policymakers and practitioners and is due to last until the end of the weekend.
The original story continues below
A march by one of Germany’s largest trade unions, the Ver.di was struck by an automobile driven by an unidentified “young male” on Thursday morning on the city’s Seidlstraße. One newspaper asserts the suspect is a migrant male but police have not confirmed the assertion at time of publication.
Munich paramedics said at least 20 people had been injured. They have not yet given exact numbers on how serious these injuries are, but German newspaper Die Welt states their saying some are “seriously” injured, and some may even be “critically” injured, which is to say at danger of death.
Police have no confirmed or denied if there were any killed during the incident, but publication Sueddeutsche Zeitung says organisers from the Ver.di march claimed a woman had been killed and that children were among the injured, including one who had to be resuscitated at the scene.
The driver of the vehicle was “secured” by police. Eyewitnesses cited by various German outlets alternately claim they witnessed the driver deliberately plough his accelerating vehicle into the crowd, or that it appeared to be an accident. But broadcaster BR24 claims witnesses who say when police arrived they found the driver locked inside his car and that they fired shots into the vehicle.
Further, Bild claims police sources who told the tabloid the arrested man is a 26-year-old Afghan citizen.
Police have not said officially whether they are treating the collisions as a deliberate act or traffic accident, and whether the fact the crowd was a trades union gathering was a factor, but have confirmed they are investigating all leads. They have askes witnesses, and anyone with images or footage to come forward.
The incident, be it attack or accident, comes just hours before world leaders including U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky among many others are due to arrive in the city for a major international conference, the Munich Security Conference.
This story is developing, more follows.
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