Munich car ramming believed to be an attack, officials say

A car plowed into demonstrators in Munich on Thursday injuring at least 28 people, in what a local official said was a suspected attack, shortly before world leaders were set to descend on the southern German city for a high-level security conference.

The suspect is believed to be a 24-year-old asylum-seeker from Afghanistan, according to a police spokesperson.

Children were among the injured, according to the city’s mayor, Dieter Reiter.

Authorities launched a major operation near the city’s central train station, a spokesperson said, according to Reuters. Police detained the driver and did not consider him a further threat, the force said in a post on X.

On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US Vice President JD Vance and other top diplomats will attend the Munich Security Conference, about 1 mile (1.5 kilometers) from the location of Thursday’s incident.

The car hit a group of protesters staging a demonstration linked to a strike organized by the Verdi union, according to local broadcaster BR24. Verdi is the key trade union for Germany’s public sector.

Those on the picket line were employees for local childcare services, according to the union, which organized the rally after negotiations for federal and local public service wages had stalled.

Verdi said it had no further information on the incident.

One person said they witnessed police shooting at the car. “I saw that a man was lying underneath the car,” the eyewitness told German program BR24. “Then I tried to open the door, but it was locked.”

Eventually, the eyewitness retreated and turned to those injured, BR24 reported.

The mayor of the Bavarian city was “deeply shaken” by the incident, according to German newspaper Bild.

“The police president has informed me that a vehicle drove into a group of people and many people were injured,” said Dieter Reiter. “I am deeply shaken. My thoughts are with the injured.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.