2025 Mannheim car incident
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 | This article documents a road incident. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. (March 2025) |
 A CCTV still of the car speeding shortly before the incident | |
 Location of the Paradeplatz square in Mannheim | |
| Date | 3 March 2025 |
|---|---|
| Time | c. 12:15 (CEST) |
| Location | Paradeplatz, Mannheim, Germany |
| Perpetrator | Alexander S. (suspected) |
| Deaths | 2 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 12 (including the driver) |
On 3 March 2025, a car was driven into a carnival crowd at Paradeplatz, a popular pedestrian area in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The attack resulted in at least two fatalities and injuries to around 11 individuals. The driver fled the scene but was apprehended by police.[1][2][3]
The nature of the incident remains under investigation by German police, the suspected has psychiatric problems, and that there is "no indication" of a political motive.[4][1][2]
Background
[edit]The incident happened after the Munich Security Conference and the countries federal election. Germany was also celebrating Rosenmontag or Rose Monday, a carnival held before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, causing German police to be on high alert.[5]
There had been two prior car based attacks in Germany prior to this one. In December 2024, a vehicle plowed into a Christmas market in Magdeburg killing six people,[6] and in February 2025 a person drove into protestors in Munich killing two people and injuring more then 30.[7]
Attack
[edit]The attack took place around 12:15 local time (11:00 GMT)[8] at Mannheim's Paradeplatz market square. A black 2002 Ford Fiesta was driven into a crowd of people, hitting several of them before stopping. A man got out of the car and fired shots at a taxi that was following him before fleeing the police.[9] Eyewitnesses reported a chaotic scene, with multiple victims lying on the ground.[10]
The city's hospital declared a state of emergency, and authorities advised residents to avoid the downtown area of Mannheim during the emergency response.[11]
Victims
[edit]Two people, an 83-year-old woman and a 54-year-old man, were killed[12] and according to German police, 11 others were injured, including five seriously.[10]
Suspect
[edit]A 40-year-old man named identified by police as Alexander S., a German citizen from Ludwigshafen, was arrested near the scene of the incident after accidentally shooting himself in the mouth while firing a gas pistol during a police chase.[9][13][14] According to state prosecutor Romeo Schüssler, the suspect had been previously convicted of assault, drunk driving, and hate speech between 2008 and 2018.[15]
Reactions
[edit]Friedrich Merz, leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), issued a statement that he was shocked by both the incident and the several other attacks that had happened in Germany in recent months. Merz stated that the country must become a safe country and that they would work towards it.[5]
Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Italy: "I offer my condolences following what happened in Mannheim today. We express our closeness to the people affected and their loved ones, our best wishes to the injured and our full solidarity to the whole of Germany. Attempts to destabilise democratic nations will not prevail and it is our commitment to remain vigilant against all forms of violence".[16]
See also
[edit]- 2024 Mannheim stabbing
- 2024 Magdeburg car attack
- 2025 Munich car attack
- 2025 Berlin Holocaust memorial stabbing
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Germany latest: One killed and several seriously injured after car driven into crowd in Mannheim, police say". Sky News. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
- ^ a b "Germany: 1 dead, several injured in Mannheim car ramming". Deutsche Welle. 3 March 2025. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
- ^ Brown, Benjamin; Halasz, Stephanie (3 March 2025). "At least one killed after car rams into crowd in German city of Mannheim, police say". CNN. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
- ^ "Two dead as car hits crowd in German city". France 24. 3 March 2025. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
- ^ a b Brown, Benjamin; Halasz, Stephanie (3 March 2025). "At least two killed after car rams crowd in German city of Mannheim". CNN. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
- ^ Chance, Matthew; Brown, Benjamin (22 December 2024). "Anti-immigrant anger rises at scene of German market attack". CNN. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
- ^ Shukla, Sebastian; Noor Haq, Sana; Tanno, Sophie (13 February 2025). "Dozens injured in Munich car ramming as authorities say suspect had 'Islamist orientation'". CNN. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
- ^ "Mannheim: Auto rast in Menschenmenge - zwei Tote und mehrere Verletzte". SWR Aktuell (in German). 3 March 2025. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
- ^ a b "Das ist der Todesfahrer von Mannheim! Er schoss auf seine Verfolger, dann richtete er die Waffe gegen sich selbst" [This is the fatal driver from Mannheim! He shot at his pursuers, then turned the gun on himself] (in German). RTL. 3 March 2025. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
- ^ a b "At least two dead in apparent car ramming attack in Mannheim". Euronews. 3 March 2025. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
- ^ "Mannheim live updates: One person dead after car drives into crowd in German city of Mannheim, police say". BBC News. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
- ^ Juravel, Alina (3 March 2025). "Mannheim: Frau (83) und Mann (54) getötet – erste Details zu Opfern". www.morgenpost.de (in German). Retrieved 3 March 2025.
- ^ "Täter verletzte sich bei Festnahme selbst – wohl kein politisches Motiv – zwei Tote, zehn Verletzte" [Perpetrator injured himself during arrest – probably no political motive – two dead, ten injured] (in German). Die Welt. 3 March 2025. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
- ^ Dahlkamp, Jürgen; Duhm, Lisa; Gebauer, Matthias; Jüttner, Julia; Keck, Christine; Röbel, Sven; Schirmer, Sophia; Wiedmann-Schmidt, Wolf (3 March 2025). "Gewalttat am Rosenmontag: Was über die Todesfahrt von Mannheim bekannt ist". Der Spiegel (in German). ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
- ^ "Mutmaßlicher Todesfahrer von Mannheim: Bewaffnet und vorbestraft". Mannheim 24 (in German). 3 March 2025. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
- ^ "President Meloni's Statement on the Incident in Mannheim". Government of Italy. Retrieved 4 March 2025.