Car plows into crowd in Leipzig, Germany, killing two

A deadly car attack tore through central Leipzig, leaving two people dead and about 20 others injured after a vehicle sped into a crowd in the eastern German city’s historic heart.

Police arrested the driver — a 33-year-old German man — at the scene, but officials said they had not yet determined what drove him to carry out the attack.

The incident adds to a disturbing string of car-ramming attacks that have rattled Germany in recent years, including assaults in Berlin, Munich and, in 2024, at a Christmas market in Magdeburg.

In Leipzig, authorities said the car shot out from a major square in the old town and barreled into a busy pedestrian shopping street.

“We will do everything in our power to investigate it quickly and fully,” he said.

“The rule of law will act with all due rigour.”

Although investigators stopped short of identifying a clear motive, several officials referred to the episode as an “Amokfahrt” — a German term used for a violent rampage often linked to a disturbed state of mind.

Such attacks were “often associated with psychological instability,” said Armin Schuster, interior minister for the state of Saxony, while stressing that police and prosecutors would have to establish whether that applied in this case.

Police said there was “no basis on current knowledge” to believe the suspect acted out of political or religious motives.

The two people killed were a 63-year-old woman and a 77-year-old man, both German citizens, police said.

According to the fire service, around 20 other people suffered lighter injuries.

Police said the vehicle struck pedestrians on Grimmaische street, one of the old town’s main shopping arteries, known for its stores and historic architecture.

They added that the driver brought the car to a stop on his own.

The Irish Embassy in Berlin said it was aware of the incident.

“Irish citizens in the area should follow the instructions of local authorities. Irish citizens who need to contact the Embassy can do so at +49 30220720,” it said.

Series of rammings

Television footage showed a white vehicle with a smashed windshield and crumpled bonnet, while emergency crews sealed off the street.

Police flooded the area in the city of roughly 600,000 residents, joined by firefighters, medical responders and two helicopters.

Authorities said the suspect was under investigation on suspicion of crimes including murder and attempted murder.

Police said they believed he acted alone and that there was no continuing threat to the public.

Even so, signs of normal life quickly returned in Leipzig, with people seated at outdoor tables not far from the scene, according to an AFP correspondent there.

Germany has remained on heightened alert over vehicle attacks since December 2016, when a truck driven by an Islamic State group sympathiser ploughed through a Christmas market in Berlin.

In 2024, a Saudi man drove a car into a Christmas market crowd in Magdeburg, killing six people and injuring more than 300.

In February 2025, an Afghan driver rammed a vehicle into a march in Munich, killing a mother and her daughter and wounding about 30 others.