Munich car attack: 28 injured as man rams vehicle into crowd, suspect is Afghan asylum seeker

At least 28 people, including children, were injured after a man crashed a car into a crowd at a trade union rally in Munich, Germany, on Thursday.

The suspect is a 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker, police said, adding that he was known to them for theft and drug offences. The individual was immediately detained by authorities.

What happened?

According to the police, the Mini Cooper driver approached the police vehicles escorting the union demonstration at around 10:30 am on Thursday. The suspect then increased speed to overtake and drove into the group of people, The Washington Post reported.


Several videos from the aftermath show the damaged vehicle on the road, while various items, including clothes and a stroller, were seen strewn across the street.

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'Suspected' attack

Markus Soder, Bavarian state premier, told media persons that the incident was “suspected to be an attack”.

“This shows something’s got to change in Germany,” The Guardian quoted Soder as saying.

This comes 10 days before Germany’s general elections, where the poll campaign has been heavily dominated by discussions on public security and immigration.

The incident also occurred just hours before the high-profile Munich Security Conference, which begins on Friday and will be attended by prominent international figures, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US Vice President JD Vance.

According to Reuters, the attack took place nearly 1.5 kilometres from the venue of the security conference.

Olaf Scholz speaks up

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the suspect in the attack must be punished to the full extent of the law and expelled from the country.

Condemning it as a "terrible attack," Scholz said the perpetrator could not assume he would be able to remain in Germany.

"The government will be starting flights back to Afghanistan despite the lack of diplomatic ties," Sky News quoted Scholz as saying.

In August last year, Germany announced that it was resuming flights to Afghanistan for convicted criminals of Afghan nationality.

The Munich attack follows another recent incident, in which a 28-year-old Afghan man was taken into custody last month for allegedly killing a two-year-old boy and a 41-year-old man in a knife attack in Bavaria.

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In December 2024, six people were killed and around 300 injured after a driver rammed a vehicle into a crowd at a Christmas market.

FAQs

1. Who is the suspect in the Munich car crash?
According to Spiegel news website, the suspect was identified only as 'Farhad N'. He arrived in the country as an asylum seeker in December 2016.

2. Where did the incident take place in Munich?
The incident occurred on Seidlstrasse in central Munich.