At least one person was killed in an incident involving a car in downtown Leipzig on Monday afternoon. Several people were also injured, some of them seriously. The police initially have information about a fatality, the AFP news agency reported, citing a police spokesman. Police, city and Fire department had previously spoken of two deaths. The situation is currently still “chaotic,” said the police spokesman.
The driver was arrested, the police said on Platform X. Before that he tried to escape. He is currently no longer a threat.
According to the police, the vehicle turned into Grimmaische Straße, a pedestrian zone, at the central Augustusplatz. According to the “Bild” newspaper, the driver was driving at high speed.
Leipzig fire director Axel Schuh said there were 20 people affected, around 40 fire and 40 rescue workers were on duty, as well as two helicopters. The “Leipziger Volkszeitung” reports that the murder vehicle was a gray VW Taigo, which was probably stopped by one of the retractable bollards. According to the newspaper, the vehicle drove about 500 meters along Grimmaische Straße along the market to Thomasgasse.
Eyewitness: Driver “swept through”
The newspaper also reports, citing eyewitnesses, that the driver “scattered through”. However, the background was not yet clear.
According to the police, rescue workers have declared a “mass casualty incident”. The police have set up a care center in the Gewandhaus on Augustusplatz. “All people who are currently still on site and are affected by what happened or want to make themselves available as witnesses” could contact the support center, the police wrote on X.
