Car drove into crowd during security conference in Munich, casualties reported
An immigrant drove into a demonstration in Munich (Illustrative photo: Getty Images)
On Thursday, February 13, in Munich, Germany, on the opening day of the Security Conference, an Afghan refugee drove a car into a crowd. As a result of the incident, at least 30 people were injured, according to Reuters.
According to law enforcement, a white car approached police vehicles escorting a demonstration of striking workers and then suddenly accelerated, crashing into the crowd. Police shot at the suspect, but it is currently unknown whether he was injured.
The latest reports from the police indicate that at least 30 people were injured, some of them seriously.
Authorities have detained the 24-year-old driver. According to them, his motive remains unclear.
"It was probably an attack," said Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Soeder to reporters.
In a statement to Reuters, a spokesperson for the Munich Prosecutor's Office revealed that the suspect's name was Farhad Noori. The suspect had previously been under police scrutiny for crimes related to drugs and shoplifting.
His asylum request had been rejected, but he was not deported due to safety concerns in Afghanistan.
Witnesses' versions
A passerby who witnessed the incident from the window of a nearby office building described seeing a white Mini Cooper car drive between police vehicles before accelerating.
Another witness, who saw part of the incident from a different building, reported that the car sped up and ran over several people in the crowd.
The people were participating in a strike organized by the Verdi public sector workers' union. Union leader Frank Werneke expressed his shock but mentioned that he had no further details about the situation.
The incident occurred just hours before international leaders, including US Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, were scheduled to arrive in the city for the Munich Security Conference.
At the same time, the Bavarian Minister of the Interior stated that he did not believe the incident was connected to the Munich Security Conference, which was set to begin on Friday.
Incidents involving migrants and their impact on elections
In recent months, Germany has experienced several criminal incidents involving migrants.
On December 20th of the previous year, a car drove into a crowd at a Christmas market in Magdeburg.
In January, in the Bavarian city of Aschaffenburg, an unknown individual attacked passersby with a knife, resulting in the deaths of a child and an adult. Immigrants were arrested in connection with both attacks.
Immigration and security issues have become dominant themes in the campaign ahead of the parliamentary elections on February 23, following a series of violent incidents in recent weeks.
Conservative politician Friedrich Merz, a candidate for the position of the next Chancellor of Germany, stated that security will be his top priority. He accused Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz of being too lenient on immigration.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which holds second place in the polls, has also seized upon the incident. Co-leader Alice Weidel emphasized that the driver was an Afghan asylum seeker.
