At least two people have been killed and several others severely injured after a car drove into a crowd in the eastern German city of Leipzig on Monday. Axel Schuh, head of Leipzig’s fire brigade, confirmed that two victims died at the scene, while at least three others suffered life-threatening injuries.
Approximately 20 additional bystanders were reported as being “affected” by the incident.
Authorities have arrested the suspected driver, identified by Saxony’s Interior Minister Armin Schuster as a 33-year-old German citizen. Police stated that the suspect “no longer poses a threat” and is currently in custody.
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While a motive has not yet been established, Schuster noted that officials are investigating the incident as a deliberate act, and he did not rule out mental health issues as a contributing factor.
The public prosecutor’s office has officially launched proceedings on two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder.
Leipzig Mayor Burkhard Jung expressed that he was “utterly stunned” by the violence, which saw a large emergency service presence descend on the downtown area.
Police utilized social media to urge the public to keep emergency routes clear as investigations continued throughout the evening.
This tragedy follows a disturbing trend of vehicle-ramming attacks in Germany over recent years. In March 2025, a similar incident in Mannheim claimed two lives, occurring just one month after another vehicle attack in the same region.
Perhaps most notably, in December 2024, a car plowed into a Christmas market in Magdeburg, killing several people and injuring more than 200 others. These repeated incidents have kept German security services on high alert regarding the use of vehicles as weapons in public spaces.