A failed asylum-seeker in Germany has driven at crowds at a trade union demonstration, injuring at least 30 people, including children. At least two of the wounded in Munich were fighting for their lives.
Anti-terror police are investigating what authorities believe was a deliberate attack and a 24-year-old Afghan was arrested after officers shot at the car, police say.
Prosecutors say the suspect has at least “indications of an extremist background”, German news site Zeit Online reports, and Der Spiegel says he is believed to have put Islamist posts on social media before the attack.
The general prosecutor’s office identified him as Farhad Noori, according to Reuters.
His asylum application had been rejected but it had been impossible to deport him, according to Bavaria’s interior minister, Joachim Herrmann.
The suspect was known to authorities for shoplifting and drug offences, he said.
Witnesses told how the attacker’s car overtook a police vehicle following the rally, then accelerated and ploughed into the back of the group.
The Munich Security Conference is set to open on Friday, with US vice-president JD Vance and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky due to arrive within hours.
Key Points
- Anti-terror police lead investigation
- Suspect is Afghan asylum-seeker, say authorities
- Tally of wounded rises to 30, including children
- Suspect 'had put Islamist posts on social media'
- Latest pictures from the scene
- Police search suspect's apartment
In pictures: Suspect's white Mini removed
18:58
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Jane Dalton
Prosecutors reveal suspect's identity
18:46
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Jane Dalton
The general prosecutor’s office in Munich has identified the suspect of the crowd ramming as Farhad Noori, according to the Reuters news agency.
Born in Kabul in 2001, he first arrived in Germany from Afghanistan at the end of 2016, Der Spiegel reported.
Bavarian interior minister Joachim Herrmann said the suspect had been known to police for drug and shoplifting offences.
His asylum application had been rejected, said Mr Herrmann, but he had not been forced to leave due to security concerns in Afghanistan.
Wounded child 'resuscitated at scene'
18:29
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Jane Dalton
One person, apparently a child, was resuscitated at the scene of the attack, according to one German news site.
BR24 said the driver sped into the group of people from behind at more than 50kmh – 31mph.
Tally of wounded rises to 30
18:28
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Jane Dalton
Police have updated the number of people injured to 30.
According to German media, at least 10 of them were seriously injured.
A child was reportedly resuscitated at the scene.
German media give suspect's first name
17:59
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Jane Dalton
A German news site says the suspect arrived in the country from Afghanistan in 2016 and had hints of an ‘extremist background’:
Police search suspect's apartment
17:42
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Jane Dalton
Detectives investigating the attack have searched the suspect's apartment in Munich.
A German news agency said it was an apartment in a building in the upmarket Solln district.
When asked, the police and the public prosecutor's office did not immediately comment.
Two people fighting for life and 28 injured – full report
17:16
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Jane Dalton
Suspect known for drugs and shoplifting
16:55
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Jane Dalton
The suspect is known to police for drug and shoplifting offences, according to Bavarian interior minister Joachim Herrmann.
His asylum application had been rejected, said Mr Herrmann, but he had not been forced to leave due to security concerns in Afghanistan.
Immigration and security issues have dominated campaigning ahead of the February 23 election, especially after other violent incidents, with polls showing the centre-right conservatives leading, followed by the far right.
In December, six people were killed in an attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg, and last month a toddler and adult were killed in a knife attack in the Bavarian town of Aschaffenburg. Immigrants have been arrested over both attacks.
At least 28 people wounded, some seriously, say police
16:28
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Jane Dalton
"We currently believe that we have at least 28 people injured, some of them seriously," said a police spokesperson.
Police said a white car had approached police vehicles that were accompanying a demonstration of striking workers, before speeding up and slamming into people.
One shot was fired at the suspect and it was unclear whether he was wounded, police added.
Officers detained the 24-year-old driver. They said his motive was unclear.
"It was probably an attack," Bavaria state premier Markus Soeder told reporters.
Security heavy for international conference in city
16:06
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Jane Dalton
Security in the Bavarian capital will be heavy in the coming days because the three-day Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering of international foreign and security policy officials, opens on Friday.
Bavaria's state interior minister, Joachim Herrmann, said authorities did not believe the car ramming was connected to the conference, but they still needed to determine the motive.
In pictures: The aftermath
15:53
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Jane Dalton
Suspect 'put Islamist posts on social media'
15:34
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Jane Dalton
German news website Der Spiegel reports that the suspect is believed to have posted Islamist posts on social media before the attack.
And according to the Munich public prosecutor's office, the suspect has at least “indications of an extremist background”, another German news site reports.
A spokesman told Zeit Online that the Bavarian Central Office for Extremism and Terrorism has taken over the investigation.
Street strewn with clothes and other belongings
15:20
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Jane Dalton
The street where the attack took place was strewn with items of clothing and bags, a shoe and a pair of glasses.
Police set up a gathering point for witnesses in the Loewenbraeukeller, one of Munich's oldest beer halls.
A passer-by who witnessed the incident from a window said the car, a white Mini Cooper, had threaded its way between police vehicles and then accelerated.
Frontrunner as chancellor calls for change on safety
15:06
The frontrunner to be Germany's next chancellor said safety would be his top priority.
"We will enforce law and order. Everyone must feel safe in our country again. Something has to change in Germany," Conservative Friedrich Merz posted on social media.
Mr Merz has accused Social Democrat chancellor Olaf Scholz of being soft on immigration, and last month he even broke a taboo by winning a parliamentary vote on asylum with the support of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Furchtbare Nachrichten aus #München.
— Friedrich Merz (@_FriedrichMerz) February 13, 2025
Meine Gedanken sind bei den Opfern und ihren Familien. Ich hoffe, dass sie diese schwere Zeit überstehen und die nötige Kraft finden. Mein Dank gilt den Sicherheitskräften, die vor Ort Hilfe leisten. Die Sicherheit der Menschen in Deutschland…
What we know so far
14:55
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Jane Dalton
· A car driven by an Afghan asylum-seeker ploughed into the back of striking workers
· Police fired a shot at the car, a white Mini, after it overtook a police vehicle and sped up to hit people. It was unclear whether the driver was wounded
· Some 28 people, including children, were injured, some seriously
· The 24-year-old suspect had had his asylum application rejected, a minister says
· The Bavarian Central Office for Combating Extremism and Terrorism is leading the investigation
· International leaders including US vice-president JD Vance and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky are due to in Munich for a security conference but it’s not known whether there is a link
Deporting suspect had been impossible, minister says
14:41
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Jane Dalton
The suspect's asylum application apparently had been rejected but it had not been possible to deport him, said Bavaria's state interior minister, Joachim Herrmann.
"This is more evidence that we can't go from attack to attack and show dismay, thank police for their deployment," said Bavarian governor Markus Soder.
"This is not the first such act ... We are determined that something must change in Germany, and quickly."
Alternative for Germany's co-leader, Alice Weidel, posted on social media: "Is this supposed to carry on forever? Migration turnaround now!"
Centre-left chancellor Olaf Scholz's government said it already had done a lot to reduce irregular migration, and that the opposition's plans were incompatible with German and European Union law.
'We actually have to change something' - Bavarian governor Markus Soder
14:06
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Alex Ross
Today’s case follows a series of attacks involving immigrants that have pushed migration to the forefront of the campaign for Germany's February 23 election.
Three weeks ago, a two-year-old boy and a man were killed in a knife attack in Aschaffenburg in which an Afghan national was named a suspect.
In the December Christmas market car ramming in Magdeburg, the suspect was a Saudi doctor who previously had come to various regional authorities' attention.
Curbing migration is a core issue for the far-right Alternative for Germany, which polls put in second place behind the conservatives.
Speaking after today’s incident, Bavarian governor Markus Soder told reporters: "This is more evidence that we can't go from attack to attack and show dismay, thank police for their deployment.
"We actually have to change something. This is not the first such act; so, we feel with the people today, but at the same time we are determined that something much change in Germany, and quickly."
Suspect must be punished and leave country, says Scholz
13:57
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Alex Ross
As we’re reported, police in Germany say an Afghan asylum seeker was arrested after the car rammed into the crowd.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said the suspect in the case cannot hope for leniency.
"This perpetrator cannot hope for any leniency. He must be punished and he must leave the country," he said.
"If it was an attack, we must take consistent action against possible perpetrators with all means of justice.”
String of attacks raise demands for migration crackdown
13:56
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Jane Dalton
Three weeks ago, a two-year-old boy and a man were killed in a knife attack in Aschaffenburg, also in Bavaria.
An Afghan whose asylum application was rejected was the suspect in that attack, which propelled migration to the centre of the German election campaign.
The Aschaffenburg attack followed knife attacks in Mannheim and in Solingen last year in which the suspects were immigrants from Afghanistan and Syria, respectively - in the latter case, also a rejected asylum-seeker who was supposed to have left the country.
In the December Christmas market car ramming in Magdeburg, the suspect was a Saudi doctor who previously had come to various regional authorities' attention.
Germany's main opposition conservative bloc has demanded a tougher approach to irregular migration, calling for many more people to be turned back at the country's borders and for an increase in deportations.
Curbing migration is also a core issue for the far-right Alternative for Germany.
Investigation being led by anti-terror police
12:52
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Alex Ross
We’re now hearing more on the suspect, who deputy police chief Christian Huber earlier described as a 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker.
Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann has now said the suspect was known to the police.
"As things stand, the perpetrator has been caught with drugs and shoplifting, and further details are being investigated," he said.
Mr Herrmann does not believe there is a connection with the Munich Security Conference, which takes place on Friday and will see US Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky attend.
Mr Herrmann said: "The police's rapid intervention certainly prevented further danger and injuries from occurring.
"The exact circumstances are still the subject of investigations.”
Bavaria's State Minister Georg Eisenreich said the Bavarian Central Office for Combating Extremism and Terrorism was conducting the investigation.
Police confirm a shot was fired at vehicle
12:37
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Alex Ross
Police in Munich have released information on the suspect and its response to the incident this morning.
In a run of posts on X, it said: “The suspect is a 24-year-old man of Afghan nationality.
“He drove a car into a gathering in the Seidlstrasse area from behind. According to current information, 28 people were injured, some seriously.
“During the arrest we fired a shot at the vehicle.”
Suspect is an Afghan asylum seeker, say authorities
12:31
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Alex Ross
At the press conference earlier, more detail was given on the suspect driver of the vehicle that hit the crowd.
Authorities said it was believed to be an attack, and the suspect — an Afghan asylum-seeker — was arrested.
Officers arrested the suspect after firing a shot at the car, deputy police chief Christian Huber said. He added that at least 28 people were believed to be injured, some of them seriously.
A damaged Mini could be seen at the scene.
The suspect was a 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker, Huber said
."It is suspected to be an attack — a lot points to that," Bavarian governor Markus Soder also told reporters at the scene.
'It's just terrible' - Bavarian governor tells reporters
12:12
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Alex Ross
Just 30minutes ago, Bavarian governor Markus Söder addressed reporters on the incident.
He said it was being treated as a suspected attack.
Mr Söder said: "It's just terrible. It's just terrible, ladies and gentlemen, when you get this news: that a car has driven into a crowd of people, that there are many injured. It's a slap in the face. We sympathise with the victims, we pray for the victims. We really hope that they all make it.
"There are those that are severely injured and are wrestling with everything, perhaps even with death, to get through this and recover as soon as possible.
'Thoughts with innocent victims' - trade union chairman
12:09
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Alex Ross
As we’ve been reporting, the vehicle hit a crowd of people at rally organised by trade union Verdi.
We’ve just had a statement from the union’s chairman Frank Werneke.
He said: “We are deeply dismayed and shocked by the serious incident during a peaceful demonstration by ver.di colleagues.
“Our thoughts are with the innocent victims and injured as well as their families. It is not yet clear whether there are any fatalities. We would like to thank all of the helpers for their commitment.
“This is a difficult moment for all colleagues. We unions stand for solidarity, especially in such a dark hour.
“At the moment we do not have any reliable information about the background to the incident. We are not taking part in speculation and are waiting for the police to investigate.”
'Suddenly there was an engine roar behind us' - eyewitness says
11:41
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Alex Ross
Local media are reporting on eyewitness accounts of what happened when the vehicle drove into the crowd of people in Munich.
Udo Kunte told Merkur, a local newspaper: “Suddenly there was an engine roar behind us, wheels spinning and then there was just a clattering.”
A spokesperson for the Verdi trade union, which organised a rally where the crash took place, told Spiegel news magazine: “The car drove into the Verdi demonstration.
“Whether it was intentional or an accident, we don’t know.”
Police inspect Mini Cooper at scene of crash
11:17
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Alex Ross
We’re now receiving images from the scene showing police inspecting a white Mini Cooper at the scene.
The road in downtown Munich is cordoned off with the vehicle appearing to be the focus of attention.
A dog is also being used as part of the investigation.
Two men in the car, one was shot by police - eyewitness says
11:14
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Alex Ross
German newspaper Bild is reporting eyewitness statements from the scene of the car hitting the crowd of people.
The publication says one person claimed there were two people in the Mini Cooper, and that was one shot by police and carried away.
The newspaper says it understands the police fired shots before the crash.
What was the Verdi trade union gathering?
11:08
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Alex Ross
Verdi, Germany’s second largest trade union with around 1.9 million members, had called a strike for municipal childcare workers on Thursday, calling for better wages and working conditions.
The strike had been called after employers failed to submit a final offer in January negotiations.
The union promised to “noticeably increase the pressure until the second round of negotiations on February 17th and 18th”.
The union called for an eight percent salary increase along with three extra days off, it said in an Instagram post before the strike.
More pictures as emergency services work at the scene
11:06
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Alex Ross
The street in downtown Munich has been cordoned off as emergency services work at the scene.
Children among at least 20 injured in incident
11:01
We’re just hearing that local authorities have said at least 20 people have been injured in the incident.
The city’s fire service said at least 20 people were injured, some of them seriously, German news agency dpa reported.
Mayor Dieter Reiter said he was "deeply shocked" by the incident. He said that children were among those injured.
Authorities haven’t commented on if the people were hit deliberately.
Police said on social platform X that the driver was "secured" at the scene and no longer poses any danger. A damaged Mini could be seen at the scene.
Where did the incident take place?
10:49
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Alex Ross
It is believed the car drove into the crowd during a demonstration linked to a strike organised by the Verdi union.
The union said it did not have any information on the incident.
The incident occurred around a mile from the city’s security conference venue.
'At least 15 people injured' - local media reports
10:38
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Alex Ross
At least 15 people were injured after Mini Cooper drove into a crowd of demonstrators, German newspaper Bild has reported citing official sources.
Eyewitnesses reported that a child was among the injured, according to BR24.
The medical condition of the injured is unclear.
Breaking: Multiple people injured after car drives into crowd
10:29
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Alex Ross
A car has driven into a crowd in Munich, leaving multiple people injured.
Someone was seen “lying on the street” and a young man “taken away by police”, Munich-based journalist Sandra Demmelhuber said.
Dozens of ambulances and police were seen at the site surrounding a car with a smashed up windscreen in photos published on social media. The incident reportedly took place at a rally organised by German trade union Verdi.
Read our story here:
Pictures from the incident in Munich
10:28
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Alex Ross