An asylum-seeker from Afghanistan crashed a Mini Cooper into a union demonstration in Munich on Thursday, injuring more than two dozen people and adding to growing tensions around immigration before Germany’s chancellor election next week.
Authorities believe the 10:30 a.m. crash was a deliberate attack by the 24-year-old, said Markus Soder, the governor of Bavaria, the state of which Munich is the capital. Police said the car passed a police cruiser that was accompanying the demonstration and plowed into the crowd. Officers fired one shot while arresting the man.
The crash site was less than a mile from the venue of the Munich Security Conference, which opens Friday and attracts high-profile participants and journalists from around the world. Police do not think the crash was connected to the conference. By the evening, as participants in the conference were arriving, the streets were calm.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.