An Afghan Refugee Suspected of Deliberately Hitting People with a Car in Munich

The police in Munich, southern Germany, reported on Thursday, February 25, that the driver of the vehicle that deliberately struck attendees at a gathering was a 24-year-old Afghan refugee. Local media in Germany have reported that the number of injured in the incident is up to 28, and that the driver has been arrested. According to Agence France-Presse, the Munich police identified the suspect as a young Afghan refugee. The fact that the perpetrator is a refugee is likely to reignite discussions in Germany about the need to expel refugees and illegal immigrants. No reports of fatalities from this incident have been published yet. Agence France-Presse quoted the state governor as saying that the police consider the incident a 'suspicious attack.' The attack on a gathering in Munich occurred just one day before the start of the Munich Security Conference, which is set to host several high-profile guests, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and J.D. Vance, a former aide to Donald Trump. According to Reuters, this incident took place less than two kilometers from the conference venue. The police have launched a 'large-scale operation' around Munich's central train station. A local media outlet reported that the vehicle attacked individuals present at a labor union gathering. Germany is once again witnessing a deliberate vehicle attack on people in the streets, following a similar incident less than two months ago in Magdeburg, where another vehicle struck pedestrians, resulting in several deaths. The crowd was run over in a Christmas market in Magdeburg on the evening of December 21 by 'a doctor from Saudi Arabia,' leaving at least five dead and over 200 injured. Meanwhile, on Thursday, an Afghan man suspected of jihadist motives was tried for last year's knife attack at an anti-Islamic gathering in Mannheim, Germany. His attack resulted in the death of a police officer and injuries to five others. This trial began as the topic of immigration is hotly debated in Germany, coinciding with the early elections on February 23. The accused, named 'Suleiman A.,' initially attacked one of the speakers and attendees with a hunting knife, then targeted a police officer who came to help. This police officer died two days later. Prosecutors say that Suleiman A. had ties to ISIS, but no terrorism charges have been filed against him. In another incident, a grenade explosion in a bar in Grenoble, France, injured about twelve people on Wednesday evening. Officials do not believe this incident was a terrorist attack. According to French officials, two of the injured are in worse condition, but their situation is not critical. Reports indicate that the individual who entered the bar threw a grenade and immediately fled. The motive for this attack is still unclear, and the assailant did not say anything or shout any slogans at the time of the grenade throw. The French prosecutor's office stated that this attack cannot be classified as 'a terrorist attempt,' and there are no signs indicating it was carried out for terrorist purposes. However, French officials have explained that this incident may be related to drug-related conflicts, especially since there are unconfirmed reports suggesting that the assailant was carrying a Kalashnikov rifle.