Dozens of people have been injured in Munich, Germany after a car plowed into a crowd just one day before U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and other world leaders are scheduled to attend a major security conference in the city.
Police in Munich, Germany shared on social media that 28 people were injured after a man drove a car and struck pedestrians in the Seidlstraße area at around 10:30 a.m. local time. They identified the suspect as a 24-year-old man of Afghan nationality, though they did not release his name.
Authorities said in a follow-up post that the man was arrested, and officers fired a shot at the car during the arrest. They noted after he was “secured on site,” he posed “no further danger.”
Police shared in an earlier update that at least two people were seriously injured in the incident. In that post, authorities noted “numerous emergency services” and rescue helicopters on site to help care for the injured.
Following the incident, Bavarian governor Markus Söder shared in a news conference that the incident was being treated as a possible attack, according to NBC News.
“This is simply terrible, ladies and gentlemen, when you receive the news that once again someone rammed their car into a group of people. There are a lot of injured. It’s a slap in the face,” Söder said, per the outlet.
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The incident comes one day before the Munich Security Conference, scheduled for Friday, Feb. 14, where several heads of state and government are set to gather. Vance is reportedly among those due to address the conference, per NBC News.
The U.S. Secret Service said in a statement to the outlet that while the vice president was not impacted, it is “monitoring the incident closely” ahead of the conference. The agency said: “There was no protective impact to the VP but we are monitoring that incident closely and German authorities are still investigating a potential motive.”
The Munich Security Conference also issued a statement on the incident on X, writing, “We were deeply saddened to learn that a tragic incident occurred this morning in the #Munich city center in which a vehicle drove into a crowd of people.”
“Our thoughts are with the victims and their families,” they said. “The emergency services are at the scene and an investigation is underway to determine the cause of this incident. We ask everyone to remain calm and follow the instructions of the authorities. [Munich police] will provide continuous updates on the current situation on its channels.”
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