Car ploughs into crowd of pedestrians in German city of Trier

At least two people have been killed and 15 injured after a car ploughed into a crowd of people in the historic centre of the city of Trier, in south-west Germany.

According to the local newspaper Trierischer Volksfreund, the incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon when a grey SUV sped down Fleischstrasse, a straight pedestrianised street with shops and cafes that leads to Hauptmarkt, the city’s medieval market square.

In a short press conference at the scene, police said the driver had been arrested and his vehicle had been seized, but would not comment further on whether the incident was deliberate.

“The car was stopped by us on Christophstrasse,” said a police spokesperson. “Inside the car was a 51-year-old German citizen from the Trier-Saarburg administrative district, who was arrested. At the moment we cannot comment on the motive.”

Trier’s mayor, Wolfram Leibe, described the incident as a “rampage”.

Schools in the inner city were informed of the incident around 2pm local time, and parents were told to pick up their children rather than let them walk home on their own.