Germany: a motorist mows down pedestrians in Leipzig, at least two dead and several injured

At least two people died and several others were injured after a motorist crashed into a street in central Leipzig, eastern Germany, on Monday afternoon, police, firefighters and the city’s mayor said.

The city’s fire chief, Axel Schuh, quoted by the Leipziger Volkszeitung, a local newspaper, said two people died in the accident. “Two people were seriously injured; they were immediately taken care of by the rescuers then transported to the emergency room by ambulance,” he added, reporting 20 other injuries.

According to the regional public media MDR, which cites the police, “a car drove into a crowd of people” in a major pedestrian axis of the old town, lined with shops and historic buildings.

Suspect arrested

“The driver of the vehicle has been arrested, he no longer presents any danger,” Leipzig police said on X, confirming that the car had mowed down “several pedestrians in Rue Grimmaische before fleeing”.

The city has gradually banned cars from its historic center for more than a decade. The police did not immediately offer any clues to explain the incident, and in particular whether it could have been a voluntary act.

The police spokesperson initially reported a “confused situation”, while Germany has been shaken in recent years by several car-ramming attacks, notably those against Christmas markets in Berlin (2016) and Magdeburg (2024), or that against a union procession in Munich at the beginning of 2025.