Two dead, after a car drove into a crowd in the German city of Leipzig. The driver was arrested
Two people were killed and several others injured on Monday after a car plowed into a group of pedestrians in the center of the eastern German city of Leipzig. The local police announced that the driver of the car has been arrested and that there is no longer any danger to the public.
The mayor of Leipzig, Burkhard Jung, confirms that two people were killed as a result of this incident.
“We don't know anything concrete about (the driver's) motive, we don't know anything about the author” of the facts, stressed Mayor Burkhard Jung.
Leipzig police initially confirmed to Reuters that several people were injured in a car accident in the center of the city on Monday afternoon. According to police, a driver was arrested after he hit several people with his car and then fled the scene.
Police said they were conducting an operation in the area and would provide further information.
Local television station MDR reported that two people were killed and two others were seriously injured after a car plowed into the crowd.
For its part, Radio Leipzig reported that the damaged Volkswagen SUV, with a person on top of the vehicle, was seen speeding through a pedestrian zone.
The local radio station also quoted eyewitnesses as saying that several bodies were covered and that a knife attack had also taken place.
Bild newspaper reported that there were at least eight injured.
Ambulances, police cars, fire trucks and an emergency helicopter were seen attending the scene on Grimmaische Straße, which connects the central Augustusplatz square with Leipzig's pedestrian zone.
BREAKING: Two people have died after a car plowed into a crowd in Leipzig, Germany, police have said
Sky's @Oliviaguthrietv has the latest: https://t.co/KCz49gSO3J
📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/iVPkivhqcj
— Sky News (@SkyNews) May 4, 2026
A Police spokesman initially described the situation as “confused”, reports AFP.
Later, in a post on X, the Leipzig Police announced that the driver of a car, which hit several pedestrians, had been arrested:
“A car hit several pedestrians on Grimmaische Street before fleeing. The driver of the vehicle has been arrested and is no longer a danger.”
****
Like other European countries, Germany has in recent years witnessed a spate of incidents involving cars driving into crowds and knife attacks, some of which are religiously or politically motivated and others committed by people with mental health problems.
Last year, two people were killed in the western city of Mannheim when a 40-year-old man drove his car into a group of pedestrians, just weeks after a similar attack on a union rally in Munich left two dead and more than 40 injured, including many children.
In December 2024, several people were killed in a car attack at a Christmas market in the (eastern) city of Magdeburg. This incident comes months after a knife attack at a festival in the western town of Solingen.
