An SUV crashed into a gathering in Germany on Monday night, killing a 63-year-old lady and a 77-year-old man and injuring over 20 others.
The driver, a 33-year-old German national, has been taken into custody.
The incident happened at about 5 p.m. in Leipzig’s main pedestrian area, which is packed with stores and historic structures that link the city’s market square with a number of attractions.
Following the incident, throngs of bystanders gathered to watch, and photos from the scene show several emergency service vehicles and staff in the street.
According to local radio Radio Leipzig, a silver Volkswagen Taigo was spotted driving down Grimmaische Street with a person on top of it.
A car with a severely damaged bonnet and windscreen was also shown in the photos.
According to witnesses quoted by the station, there was a stabbing and multiple bodies covered in sheets.
Hosam Algaer, a resident of Leipzig who is originally from Libya, told AFP that after barely escaping being struck by the automobile, he ran after it in an attempt to assist the injured until it stopped.
On Monday, May 4, 2026, rescue personnel are standing next to a wrecked car that has collided with multiple individuals in Leipzig, Germany.
In the German city of Leipzig, a car is thought to have crashed into a throng of people, injuring several individuals.
At least two people were killed and numerous others were injured when a Volkswagen SUV crashed into people on a roadway, while a German emergency medical services helicopter flew overhead.
After a car crashed into a group of people, a police officer is standing close to a body bag.
“The car braked, it stopped,” he claimed. A woman was on top, and she died beneath the vehicle. She tumbled from the roof.
Fortunately, the yelling did not make matters worse. People instantly realised that a fool was behind the wheel and ran away.
The tragedy was referred to as a “mass casualty event” in a city press release.
The driver was taken into custody by the police, who have declared that there is no longer any threat. It is believed that the suspect halted the vehicle on his own initiative.
The suspect may have mental health problems, according to Saxony’s premier minister, Michael Kretschmer.
He remarked that the experience “shakes me to the core.” We’ll exert every effort to conduct a thorough and prompt investigation. The rule of law will operate with the appropriate rigour.
Officials have not definitively determined the suspect’s motivation, but some have referred to the incident as a “Amokfahrt”—a German phrase implying a rampage motivated by insanity.
This type of behaviour was “often associated with psychological instability,” according to Saxony state government interior minister Armin Schuster.
This picture depicts the crowded Leipzig city center on Monday night, when two people were mowed down and at least twenty more were hurt.
The incident took place in the city center on Grimmaische.” Augustusplatz and Ritterstraße are separated by a roped area.
The situation is still evolving, and emergency personnel are currently on the scene.
However, he said that police and prosecutors would have to decide if it was the case in this instance.
Burkhard Jung, the mayor of Leipzig, called the two deaths a “terrible tragedy.”
“We are mourning two deaths, three seriously injured people, and many others who were injured,” he continued.
“Words cannot express how horrible this attack is.”
Axel Schuh, the head of the city’s fire department, also confirmed that two people had died.Without providing specifics, he stated that roughly twenty more persons were “affected.”
“We don’t know the motivation,” Mr. Jung stated in a video message released by the local media site Leipziger Volkszeitung. We have no information on the offender.
“There is no longer any danger—it is under control,” he added. The alleged offender has been apprehended by the police.
Late on Monday, police declared that there was “no basis on current knowledge” to suspect a religious or political motivation.
Photographs from the site show a lot of emergency cars and staff in the street while large groups of people congregate to see.
After the collision, footage showed what looked to be the car.
In a social media post, Saxony Police stated: “A police operation is currently taking place in the center of #Leipzig.”
“Remain clear of the emergency routes and heed the on-site emergency services’ instructions.”
In Grimmaische Mün, a car ran away after hitting multiple individuals. Now that the driver has been captured, there is no longer any threat from him. We’ll keep giving updates.
According to Susanne Læcke, a police spokesman, the driver was in the automobile when he was arrested and had stopped it himself.
“Just now, a car sped through the city center Leipzig,” reported an apparent witness on X.
Everyone appeared to be in disbelief as they leaped out of the way. Resuscitation on-site
In the hours that followed, emergency personnel stayed on the scene.
Numerous police officers, firefighters, emergency medical professionals, and two helicopters were sent.
The police said they were conducting an operation in the region and will provide more updates, but they were unable to provide specifics regarding injuries.
With a population of about 630,000, Leipzig is one of the largest cities in eastern Germany and is situated southwest of Berlin.
Similar to other European nations, Germany has seen an increase in car-ramming and stabbing attacks in recent years; some of these incidents were motivated by political or religious beliefs, while others were committed by individuals with mental health disorders.
Only weeks after a similar attack on a trade union demonstration in Munich that resulted in two fatalities and over forty injuries, including numerous children, a 40-year-old man drove a car into a group of pedestrians in the western city of Mannheim last year, killing two people.
A car-ramming incident on a Christmas market in the eastern city of Magdeburg in December 2024 claimed multiple lives.
Months had passed since a stabbing at a festival in the western city of Solingen.
