A car drove into a group of people in Leipzig's inner city on Monday afternoon, killing two and seriously injuring two others, according to BILD information. The driver was arrested shortly after the vehicle was stopped.
Emergency services declared a mass-casualty incident as about ten ambulances raced to the scene, where stores in the pedestrian zone shut their doors and police sealed off Grimmaische Straße completely. Leipzig mayor Burkhard Jung later said there was no longer any danger in the city.
A police spokesman said the vehicle and driver were detained shortly afterward and that no further danger remained. Police also said the rescue services had declared a mass-casualty incident and that many officers were deployed at the scene.
According to BILD information, the driver of a VW Taigo had driven at high speed along Grimmaische Straße before the crash. The suspect is said to have appeared psychologically conspicuous during the arrest, though no further details were given. The incident unfolded in Leipzig's pedestrian zone, turning a busy stretch of the city center into a sealed-off emergency zone within minutes.
The immediate threat is over, but the central questions now are about the condition of the two seriously injured victims and what led the driver to plow into the crowd. Leipzig has been secured, but the damage from Monday afternoon is already severe.