A 77-year-old man and a 63-year-old woman were killed on Monday (4 May), after a man drove a car into a crowd on a pedestrianised street in the the eastern German city of Leipzig, authorities said.
State police said a 33-year-old man struck several pedestrians after driving his car along Grimmaische Straße in the city centre of Leipzig at around 16:45 local time (15:45 GMT).
The man fled the scene in his car, but was later arrested by officers in a VW Taigo near St. Thomas Church.
German prosecutors are investigating the man for two counts of murder and multiple counts of attempted murder.
Three people were seriously injured in the incident, Leipzig's mayor said on Monday. Police said numerous people were injured, but said they couldn't yet confirm the exact number. Earlier, Leipzig Fire Chief Axel Schuh said 22 people were injured.
Investigators believe the driver acted alone and enquires into the motive of the crime are ongoing, but according to current findings a political or religious motive isn't suspected, police added.
As part of ongoing investigations, the areas around St. Thomas Churchyard and Grimmaische Straße remain closed, police said. Residents are not affected by the closures.
"We are mourning two deaths, currently three seriously injured people, and many others who were injured," Mayor Burkhard Jung told journalists at a press conference on Monday evening.
“It’s impossible to find the right words for this horrific attack," he added.
The Prime Minister of the state of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer, said that the suspect had possible mental health issues.
Earlier, in a statement, officers said that emergency services had declared a “mass casualty incident”.
“A large number of police officers are on the scene,” the statement said.
A damaged Volkswagen SUV, with a person on top of the vehicle, was seen speeding through a pedestrian zone, local broadcaster Radio Leipzig reported.The broadcaster cited eyewitnesses as saying several bodies were covered with sheets, and also reported an alleged stabbing.
Around 40 firefighters and 40 paramedics were deployed, supported by two helicopters. Following the incident, a cordon was put in place around the affected area in the city centre, covering Grimmaische Straße from Augustplatz to St. Thomas Church.
At approximately 17:35 (15:35 GMT), Radio Leipzig reported that police had declared the danger over.
Unverified images circulating on social media showed a yellow emergency helicopter near the scene, along with several ambulances.
Police have appealed for anyone who was on the scene or affected by the incident to provide witness statements.
Germany has witnessed a spate of car-ramming incidents in recent years, some by people with religious or political motives and others carried out by people with mental health problems.
In May 2025, one person was killed and a number of people were injured after a car hit a crowd of people in the southwestern city of Stuttgart. Authorities treated the incident as an accident.
In March 2025, two people were killed in the western city of Mannheim, when a 40-year-old man drove a car into a group of pedestrians, only weeks after a similar attack on a trade union demonstration in Munich, killed two and injured more than 40, including children.
In December 2024, several people were killed in a car-ramming attack on a Christmas market in the eastern city of Magdeburg. That incident came months after a stabbing attack at a festival in the western city of Solingen.
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