One individual was killed and several others were injured after a driver rammed a car into a crowd in western Germany on Monday, police said adding that a suspect is in custody.
Police spokesperson Stefan Wilhelm informed that the incident took place in Paradeplatz, a pedestrianized street in Mannheim after a driver drove into a group of people.
“We can confirm that one perpetrator was arrested,” he said. “We can’t yet give information on whether there were further perpetrators,” he added.
Following the incident, police declared a “life-threatening situation” in the southwestern city of Mannheim, urging residents to avoid the downtown area as authorities launched a major law enforcement operation.
According to German news agency dpa, Mannheim University Hospital came into force for a possible mass causality incident. Disaster and emergency plan has been implemented in the hospital to take care of the injured.
As per dpa, eight trauma teams were made available.
“Postponable operations that had not yet begun were immediately removed from the operation plan in order to create additional operating capacity,” the university hospital told dpa.
Police spokesperson Stefan Wilhelm confirmed that an incident occurred at around 12.15 pm in the Paradeplatz area of central Mannheim, prompting a significant security operation.
Authorities issued an alert via the Katwarn app, a system used to inform the public about emergencies such as severe weather, terrorist attacks, or major fires. The alert instructed people to stay away from the city centre and remain indoors while the situation unfolded.
Mannheim, a city of about 300,000 people located south of Frankfurt, saw an immediate police lockdown in its central district following the incident.
