German Police Shoot, Injure Man After Apparent Car Attack

VOA News
Last Updated: 26 February 2017 (4:08AM)

WASHINGTON — Police in Heidelberg, Germany, shot and seriously wounded a man Saturday after the man hit three people with a car, killing one of them.

The 35-year-old German man drove his car into the people in a central square while they were standing in a pedestrian area. A brief stand-off ensued before police shot the man, whom they said was armed with a knife.

Police say they don’t believe the attack to be terrorism-related, but do not know of any possible motive. An investigation is under way.

A 73-year-old German mad died of his injuries. A 32-year-old Austrian man and a 29-year-old woman from Bosnia-Herzegovina were hospitalized and released with minor injuries.

The Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung newspaper said the suspect had stopped at a traffic light and when it turned green put his foot down before hitting the group of people at high speed and smashing into a pillar.

A similar attack took place in Germany this past December, when a terrorist drove a truck through a crowded Berlin Christmas market, killing 12 people and injuring 50 more.