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A driver has ploughed into a crowd in the southern German city of Munich, injuring at least 30 people including children in what the state premier says is probably an attack.
The background: Police said a white car had approached police vehicles that were accompanying a demonstration of striking trade union workers on Thursday, before speeding up and hitting people.
Officers arrested the suspect after firing a shot at the car, deputy police chief Christian Huber said. His motive was unclear.
“It was probably an attack,” Bavarian premier Markus Söder said.
The suspect was a 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker, Huber said. He came to Germany at the end of 2016 as an unaccompanied minor refugee. His asylum procedure was finalised in 2020 with a rejection notice and an order to leave the country.
The vehicle used in the suspected attack is lifted onto a tow truck. Source: AAP / AP / Matthias Balk
The key quote: “He must be punished and he must leave the country.” — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
What else to know: The incident follows a series of attacks in recent months that have pushed migration to the forefront of the campaign for Germany’s federal election next week.
In December, six people were killed in 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.
