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Dozens of pedestrians were struck by a car Tuesday in the German city of Trier. According to the police forces, there are at least five dead from being run over and about 15 injured.
The first elements of the investigation show “What psychiatric disorders may have played a role?” In the act of the 51-year-old man, Peter Fritzen said at a press conference, adding that the person responsible for the tragedy, a native of Trier, was also drunk.
In the early afternoon, a gray pickup truck zigzagged into the pedestrian zone at high speed and intentionally ran over pedestrians and shop stalls for several hundred meters.
Just four minutes later, when he was coming out onto a highway, he was intercepted by several police cars and detained despite resisting.
The fatal victims are a nine-month-old baby (the mother was injured), a 25-year-old woman, a 45-year-old man and a 73-year-old woman. The fifth victim died hours later in hospital, as a result of the injuries.
There were also 15 injured, of whom at least five are in serious condition.
The Trier Prosecutor’s Office indicated that the suspect is a 51-year-old man of German nationality, a native of Trier and who usually lived on the outskirts of the city, despite having spent the last few days “in his vehicle.”
The detainee, who had a blood alcohol level of 1.4 grams per liter of blood, above the legal limit of 0.25 g / l, had no criminal record, but the possibility of a “psychiatric illness” is being investigated as it had recently been examined.
The suspect is being investigated for four crimes of homicide and “many more” of attempted murder, since it can be considered a “malicious” act in which the car was used “as a weapon.”
On Wednesday, he is due to go to court and it remains to be seen whether he will remain in pretrial detention or be admitted to a psychiatric institution, the Trier attorney general said.
The mayor of the city, Wolfram Leibe, was surprised in brief statements to the media after touring the affected streets, spoke of “horror” and confirmed that one of the deceased was a minor.
People were taken from life in a second, killed by that act of madness, including a small child, a baby “, the regional leader of Rhineland-Palatinate, Malu Dreyer, told the press the state where the events occurred.
A short video posted on social media shows an SUV immobilized by police vehicles and a man handcuffed face down on the sidewalk, questioned in the late afternoon by investigators.
The alleged perpetrator was experiencing psychological problems, according to one of his former neighbors, who in a statement to the NTV news channel said he recognized the license plate of the car, saying the suspect was experiencing financial worries and “problems with his father.” ”.
What happened in Trier is shocking. Our heart goes out to the families of the victims, the many injured and to all those who are currently on duty to care for those affected., German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesperson Steffen Seibert reacted on Twitter.
The Portuguese government in solidarity with the families of the victims
The Portuguese Government expressed “its solidarity with the families of the victims of the attack that occurred today in the city of Trier, in Germany,” reiterating its support for the German people and authorities.
Through the official Twitter page of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Portuguese Government expressed its solidarity “with the families of the victims of the attack” that took place in that German city.
We hope that the injured recover quickly and we reiterate our support to the people and authorities of Germany. “, refers the same publication.
Marcelo offers condolences to the German counterpart for victims of abuses
The President of the Republic of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, offered his condolences and solidarity to the German counterpart for the death of at least five people as a result of the run over in a pedestrian zone in the city of Trier, Germany.
In a note published on the website of the Presidency of the Republic it can be read that Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa “sent, on behalf of the Portuguese people and for himself, a message of condolences to President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, conveying wishes of condolence to the families of the victims. quick and fatal recovery to all injured ”.
The President of the Republic also expressed his deep solidarity with the German people at this difficult time and expressed his firm condemnation of this act of violence ”., refers to the same note.
