Car Collision with Crowd in Mannheim, Germany Leaves Two Dead and Several Injured

German police report that a vehicle in Mannheim has caused casualties by colliding with a crowd. According to German news agency, citing security sources, two people have been killed and several others injured. Police state that one suspect has been arrested, and the news agency reports that he is a citizen of the same country. This incident occurred on Monday, March 4, when, according to police spokesperson Stefan Wilhelm, the driver of a vehicle struck a group of people at Paradeplatz, a pedestrian street in Mannheim. Police have announced that one person was killed and several others injured, but the exact number of injuries and the severity of their wounds are still unclear. The police spokesperson stated that one suspect has been arrested but emphasized that no further information can be provided regarding the possibility of other suspects. Following the incident, police urged the residents of Mannheim in southwestern Germany to stay indoors and avoid the area of the incident. Images released from the scene show parts of the city center surrounded by heavy police presence and helicopters flying overhead. Police forces gathered around a severely damaged black vehicle, and ambulances lined up outside the cordoned-off area. Paradeplatz is the main square in the city center and is located at the end of a pedestrian street in Mannheim. The city has a population of 326,000 and is located 85 kilometers south of Frankfurt. The German news agency reported that Mannheim University Hospital has prepared for a potential mass casualty incident and has activated its emergency and crisis plan to prepare for and care for the injured. The German newspaper Bild recently reported that a propaganda site linked to ISIS, which publishes content in German, released a computer-generated image asking its audience to 'choose the next target for an attack.' This image included dates and locations of carnival celebrations. In response to this threat, the German police spokesperson announced that security forces have been placed on high alert for attacks on traditional carnival celebrations in the cities of Cologne and Nuremberg. Traditional carnival celebrations last for a week, followed by a 40-day fasting period. The peak of this event is known as 'Rose Monday,' which is 48 days before Easter Sunday. On this day, various cities in Germany witness street parades, but the Mannheim parade took place on Sunday. Now, due to the events in Mannheim, it has been announced that Nancy Faeser, the German Minister of the Interior, has canceled her participation in the street parade of the carnival in Cologne. The spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior told the German news agency that the current focus is on saving lives, treating the injured, and conducting initial investigations by officials in Mannheim. Although the German police did not describe the incident on Monday as an 'attack,' there have been several deadly incidents in Germany in recent months where vehicles have driven into crowds. For instance, last month, in an incident where an individual drove a vehicle into a labor union demonstration in Munich, a two-year-old girl and her mother died two days after being injured. In this incident, a 24-year-old Afghan man, who had come to Germany as a refugee, was arrested immediately after the attack, and prosecutors stated that he appeared to have extremist Islamist motives. Late last year, a vehicle also drove into a Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg in eastern Germany, killing six people and injuring over 200. The suspect in this incident was also arrested. Police stated that he was a 50-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia who held anti-Islamic views and was a supporter of the far-right party 'Alternative for Germany.'