Car attack on pedestrians in Trier, Germany, leaves 5 dead and 15 injured

A car drove into a central no-car zone in the German city of Trier and ran over several pedestrians. According to the latest reports, five people were killed and at least 15 others were injured. It was not a terrorist attack and the attacker was mentally disturbed.

Trier police announced on Twitter on Tuesday, December 1, that one person had been arrested. In the initial reports, the police reported one person dead and two injured. The police said they had seized the attacker's car. In subsequent reports, at least two people were reported dead, one of whom was a child. Now, according to the latest reports, five people have been killed and at least 15 others injured in the incident.

According to police and eyewitnesses, the attacker zigzagged for about 900 meters in a no-car zone, trying to hit more people. He hit people and threw them into the air. Ambulances and rescue workers from all over the area rushed to the scene.

The attacker, a 51-year-old German man from the Trier suburb of Trier-Saarburg, resisted arrest, police said. Police believe he acted alone.

The chief prosecutor in Trier said the attacker would be charged with five counts of murder, several counts of attempted murder and several counts of grievous bodily harm. The attacker is said to have used the car as a weapon.

Police arrested the attacker four minutes after receiving the first report. Upon questioning the man, they found that he was drunk. Police suspect that the man showed signs of mental disorder. Police have asked the public to provide any photos or videos they have of the scene of the attack to police and judicial authorities.

According to the Catholic News Agency, the person entered the no-car zone from the direction of the Church of Constantine, drove at speed towards Porta Nigra, and recklessly entered the crowd of passers-by.

At least two people were killed and ten others injured, Southwestern German television (SWR) quoted Trier Mayor Wolfram Leibe as saying, while a police spokesman said several people were injured.

A reporter for the Trierer Volksfreunde newspaper reported that the driver of an SUV left a trail of destruction in the central market square, with all the sales tables overturned.

Helicopters are flying over the city in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Schools in the city center have been notified of the incident. At the Ausonius elementary school, all students were expected to stay home Tuesday afternoon. Parents were informed that a person had driven a car into the crowd on the central market square and that no students should go home unaccompanied.

Police said they had seized the attacker's car and advised Trier residents to avoid the city's central square, where there is a large police and emergency services presence, as a precaution.

Trier Mayor Wolfram Leine described the scene of violence as "horrific." He said he saw a child's shoe in the square. "This little girl has lost her life," he added with tears in his eyes. Police also confirmed the death of a child.

Eyewitnesses have reported seeing people being thrown after being hit by a car.

German government spokesman Steffen Seibert expressed his deep regret on Twitter, expressing the German government's sympathy with all relatives of the dead and injured, and expressing solidarity with all those involved in the relief operations to care for the affected citizens.

Rhineland-Palatinate state premier Malo Dreier and state interior minister Roger Löwens (both from the Social Democratic Party) have arrived in the city. Ms. Dreier expressed her deep regret and shock at the incident in her hometown, offered her condolences to the relatives of the victims, and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

Declaring the threat over, the police said they would hold a news conference at Trier city hall on Tuesday evening.

Source: DW