MUNICH — A 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker drove a car into a crowd in Munich on Thursday, injuring 28 people in what Bavarian state premier Markus Söder said was likely a deliberate attack, German media reported.
The incident occurred near a police blockade at a protest organized by the Verdi public sector workers’ union. According to police, the driver accelerated through the stopped vehicles before plowing into pedestrians.
“It was probably an attack,” Söder told reporters.
The suspect, who has been taken into custody, is not believed to pose any further threat, police said.
A witness, speaking from a nearby office building, described seeing a Mini Cooper maneuver between police vehicles before speeding up and striking people. Another witness confirmed the car had accelerated into the crowd.
The attack occurred just hours before the start of the Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering of global leaders. U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are among the high-profile attendees arriving in the city.
Police established a witness gathering point at Loewenbräukeller, one of Munich’s historic beer halls.
The attack happened about 1.5 kilometers (one mile) from the conference venue, reigniting security concerns just days before Germany’s federal elections.
