Two killed after car ploughs into crowd in Germany (VIDEOS)
At least two people have been killed and several others injured after a 33-year-old suspect drove a car into a crowd in the eastern German city of Leipzig, according to local police.
The incident took place at around 4:45pm on Monday on Grimmaische Strasse, a central shopping street linking key landmarks with the city’s market square. Leipzig’s fire chief said that more than 20 people had been “affected” after a white Volkswagen Taigo SUV sped through a pedestrian zone, hitting multiple people.
“Two were so severely injured that they died shortly afterward,” Leipzig police said in a press release, identifying the deceased as a 63-year-old woman and a 77-year-old man, both German citizens.
ℹ️ Leipzig: Polizei gibt erste Infos zum Täter bekanntLaut einer aktuellen Pressemitteilung der Polizei handelt es sich bei dem mutmaßlichen Täter um einen „33-Jährigen mit deutscher Staatsangehörigkeit“. Ob der Mann einen Migrationshintergrund hat, ist bislang unklar.Nach… pic.twitter.com/LQI99dfhjj
— Steffen Unger (@unger2701) May 4, 2026
It was not immediately clear whether the incident was deliberate or an accident, but authorities said that, “according to current findings, a political or religious motive is not suspected.” The Leipzig public prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into two counts of murder and multiple counts of attempted murder, among other charges.
A car rammed into a crowd in Leipzig, Germany, injuring multiple people. pic.twitter.com/p2FTVMWLAE
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) May 4, 2026
The driver was detained at the scene. Police initially described the perpetrator as a “33-year-old German citizen,” but in the latest update referred to the suspect simply as a “man.”
Germany has seen multiple deadly vehicular attacks in recent years involving foreign-born individuals.
Last year, an Afghan national plowed through a rally in Munich, leaving dozens of people injured. A two-year-old girl and her mother later died in hospital from their injuries.
In December 2024, a 50-year-old Saudi psychiatrist drove into a crowd at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, killing five people and injuring more than 200 others.
In 2016, a rejected Tunisian asylum seeker drove a truck into a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring dozens.
The attacks have intensified debate in Germany over migration and public security. Right-wing parties such as Alternative for Germany (AfD) have been pressing the government to shift migration policy, portraying migrants, particularly those from outside Europe, as a burden on public services and a driver of crime and social strife.
