Four killed by car in pedestrian zone in German city of Trier, driver arrested

At least four people died and 15 were injured today when they were hit by a car in the southwestern German city of Trier, police said. Regional Premier Malu Dreyer said a baby was among the dead.

The driver, identified as a 51-year-old German from the area, was arrested at the scene and the vehicle seized. He deliberately drove into a pedestrian zone and appears to have hit people “at random,” said Karl-Peter Jochem, a spokesman for local police.

Police said he would be questioned but that it would be “very difficult.” He was behind the wheel of a silver van, which managed to drive about a kilometer through the pedestrian zone before being hit by police.

The governor of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Malu Dreyer, who comes from Trier, said that among the dead was a small child and condemned it as a “brutal act”.

“It was a really terrible day for my hometown,” Dreyer told reporters after visiting the site.

Police said the driver appeared to have crashed into pedestrians indiscriminately while driving through the city center shortly before 2 p.m.

Roger Lewentz, the state interior minister, praised the security forces for their reaction, saying they had stopped the car and detained the suspect four minutes after receiving the first call.

Footage from the scene showed people outside a store apparently helping someone on the ground who was lying amid strewn debris.

Mayor Wolfram Leibe told SWR broadcaster that in addition to the four dead, 15 people had suffered serious injuries.

“I walked downtown and it was horrible. It was a horror show. There is a coach lying there … the girl he belonged to is dead,” added the mayor, before tears prevented him from speaking further.

The driver was alone in the car, police said.

“I don’t want to speculate, but we all wonder … what prompts a person to do something like this?” Leibe said. “Of course I don’t have an answer to this question.”

The area was closed until at least Wednesday morning for police to collect evidence, but there was no longer any danger, Leibe said.

In a video posted by a local media outlet that allegedly showed the arrest, police could be seen pinning a man on the sidewalk next to a car with Trier plates. The authenticity of the video could not be immediately verified and was removed shortly after police tweeted a request that people not share photos and videos of the scene.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesperson Steffen Seibert tweeted that the scene was “shocking.”

“Our thoughts are with the families of the dead and the numerous injured, and with all those currently on duty caring for them,” he said.

Trier is about 200 kilometers west of Frankfurt, near the Luxembourg border. The city of approximately 110,000 inhabitants is known for its Roman gate, the Porta Nigra, which is close to the scene of the incident and as the birthplace of Karl Marx.

– AP, with Daily Telegraph