German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser visits the site where a car drove into a crowd, in Mannheim, Germany, March 3, 2025.
Credit: Reuters Photo
German prosecutors said they had started investigative proceedings against a 40-year-old man they suspect of intentionally driving into a crowd in the western German city of Mannheim on Monday for two counts of murder.
"We have initiated preliminary proceedings against the perpetrator for two counts of murder and multiple attempted murders," Mannheim Chief Public Prosecutor Romeo Schluessler told a news conference late on Monday
'No extremist or religious background'
There are no indications of an extremist or religious background to Monday's car ramming incident in the western German city of Mannheim, the regional interior minister had earlier said.
A car drove into a crowd in Mannheim, killing at least two people and seriously injuring several others, overshadowing carnival celebrations in the region where police had been on alert for attacks.
"At this time, we have no indications of an extremist or religious background regarding the specific motivation for the act," Thomas Strobl, interior minister of the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, had told reporters.
"The motivation may rather be rooted in the perpetrator's own personal circumstances. However, this is the subject of ongoing investigations."