{"id":5727,"date":"2026-05-04T08:55:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T15:55:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/news\/7634268\/a-driver-plows-into-a-group-of-people-in-the-german-city-of-leipzig-injuring-several\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T19:15:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T02:15:07","slug":"a-driver-plows-into-people-in-a-shopping-area-in-germany-killing-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/5727\/a-driver-plows-into-people-in-a-shopping-area-in-germany-killing-2\/","title":{"rendered":"A driver plows into people in a shopping area in Germany, killing 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

BERLIN (AP) \u2014 A driver plowed into people in a busy shopping area in the center of the German city of Leipzig on Monday afternoon, leaving two people dead, authorities said.<\/p>\n

An additional three people were seriously injured in what officials believe was a deliberate rampage, Mayor Burkhard Jung said. <\/p>\n

He described it as \u201ca terrible tragedy.” An unspecified number of people sustained less serious injuries.<\/p>\n

The driver, a 33-year-old German citizen, was detained in the car. Police said he was a German-born resident of the Leipzig area. <\/p>\n

Prosecutors said he is under investigation on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. There was no immediate word on a possible motive.<\/p>\n

The interior minister of Saxony state, Armin Schuster, said investigators believe the man acted alone. He said that rage and \u201cpsychological instability\u201d are often factors in such cases, but added that he wouldn’t speculate on whether that was the case here.<\/p>\n

Police chief Ren\u00e9 Demmler said the man drove from the Augustusplatz, a major square, along the Grimmaische Strasse into the city’s central pedestrianized shopping area. He stressed that there was no longer any danger.<\/p>\n

The driver was arrested in the vehicle and didn’t resist arrest, Demmler said. <\/p>\n

Saxony state Gov. Michael Kretschmer expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn act like this leaves us speechless \u2014 and it makes us determined,” he added, according to German news agency dpa. \u201cWe will do everything in our power to solve this case quickly and completely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photos from the scene showed a car with a battered front and a shattered windshield after the incident, which happened at about 5 p.m.<\/p>\n

Leipzig is located southwest of Berlin and has more than 630,000 inhabitants, making it one of the biggest cities in eastern Germany.<\/p>\n

\n \"|\"
A damaged car that has crashed into several people is pictured in Leipzig, Germany, Monday, May 4, 2026. (Sebastian Willnow\/dpa via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n \"|\"
Rescue workers stand next to a damaged car that has crashed into several people in Leipzig, Germany, Monday, May 4, 2026. (Sebastian Willnow\/dpa via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n \"|\"
A policeman stands next to a body bag after a car crashed into several people in Leipzig, Germany, Monday, May 4, 2026. (Jan Woitas\/dpa via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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A driver plowed his vehicle into a shopping area in the center of Leipzig, Germany, on Monday, authorities say. (AP Digital Embed)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BERLIN (AP) \u2014 A driver plowed into people in a busy shopping area in the center of the German city of Leipzig on Monday afternoon, leaving two people dead, authorities said. An additional three people were seriously injured in what officials believe was a deliberate rampage, Mayor Burkhard Jung said. He described it as \u201ca […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":5728,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"guid":"2ac6b81f-5854-44bb-b74f-31d0fe11157a","source":"The Associated Press","byline":"","published":"2026-05-04 08:55:20","updated":"2026-05-04 19:02:26","_infotelid":"","_prepressid":"","_multisite_post_sync":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1303,1304],"tags":[],"region":[],"class_list":["post-5727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","category-world"],"blocksy_meta":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/5727\/a-driver-plows-into-people-in-a-shopping-area-in-germany-killing-2\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"A driver plows into people in a shopping area in Germany, killing 2","url":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/5727\/a-driver-plows-into-people-in-a-shopping-area-in-germany-killing-2\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/5727\/a-driver-plows-into-people-in-a-shopping-area-in-germany-killing-2\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/inwheels-0836776baf84fbeed786a848cefb83d04c9bcd5d05c144fe7e4896600d62b92d.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/inwheels-0836776baf84fbeed786a848cefb83d04c9bcd5d05c144fe7e4896600d62b92d.jpg"},"articleSection":"International","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Associated Press"}],"creator":["The Associated Press"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"iNwheels","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2026-05-04T15:55:20Z","datePublished":"2026-05-04T15:55:20Z","dateModified":"2026-05-05T02:15:07Z"},"rendered":"