Trier: car crashes into pedestrians – at least two killed – OB speaks of a riot

Status: 6:27 pm | Reading time: 3 minutes

IIn Trier, in Rhineland-Palatinate, at least two people died on Tuesday in an incident involving a car in the pedestrian zone. A small child was also among the victims: a baby was ripped from life, Prime Minister Malu Dreyer (SPD) said.

Initially, it was not clear how many victims there were. First, the police reported on Twitter of two people killed. “There are several dead and several people seriously injured,” said Trier Presidium spokesman Karl-Peter Jochem.

According to the police, there was an arrest and the car was impounded. Eyewitnesses reported that people were thrown into the air.

In the statement, the police announced that the suspect is a 51-year-old German from the Trier-Saarburg district. Assumes a lonely author.

The authorities have no evidence of a political background. The German press agency found out about this from security circles. Therefore, the driver of the car is not classified as a danger. Security authorities refer to individuals as threats if they trust the most politically motivated acts of violence, including terrorist attacks.

The driver will be questioned Tuesday afternoon. “The suspect is being questioned,” a police spokesman said. Still nothing could be said about the man’s motive. According to the current state of the investigation, he was sitting alone in the vehicle.

He was arrested “four minutes after the initial notification,” Rhineland-Palatinate Interior Minister Roger Lewentz (SPD) said at the scene Tuesday evening. A police spokesman added that the driver was “detained” and overwhelmed by forces from the police headquarters. According to the information, the driver has not yet commented.

According to police, the man crossed a pedestrian zone in a van and apparently struck people “at random”. After the arrest, there is no longer any danger to the population.

The first emergency calls were received around 1:48 p.m., police said. At the end of the pedestrian zone, after a distance of approximately one kilometer, the driver could be stopped by the police and was detained.

Parts of Trier city center were cordoned off after the incident. Everywhere in the center, also near the famous Porta Nigra, blue lights could be seen on Tuesday. The ADAC sent rescue helicopters and one injured person was flown to Wittlich.

Police had initially asked people to avoid the affected area. He also warned against the spread of speculation. The Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance published an official warning of danger. In Trier there is a “special situation”, the affected area must be avoided, he said.

The police have also activated an information portal on the Internet. Investigators asked witnesses via Twitter to upload photos or videos of the crime. Notes and information for relatives of possible injuries are available on 0800 6565651.

Trace of devastation in the main market

Trier Mayor Wolfram Leibe (SPD) told SWR that it was a crazy case. The mayor spoke of a “horror picture” that was presented to him when he arrived at the crime scene.

Parents were asked to pick up their children from schools in the city center, as there had been an uproar, the “Trierische Volksfreund” reported.

Consequently, the driver of an off-road vehicle left a trail of devastation in the main market. That can be seen in the market stalls.

Rhineland-Palatinate Prime Minister Malu Dreyer (SPD) expressed her horror at the fatal incident. Interior Minister Roger Lewentz (SPD) drove from Mainz to the scene of the incident. Dreyer was also expected there that afternoon.

Steffen Seibert, spokesman for the federal government, wrote on Twitter: “What happened in Trier is shocking. The thought is with the families of the victims, with the many injured and with all those who are currently on duty to care for those affected.