"People in a panic scattered"

The report of the Novo-Europe from the German Mannheim, where the car crashed into the crowd at the fair. Two were killed, the police have not yet seen a political motive

On March 3, at about 12 o’clock in the afternoon, the black Ford Fiesta crashed into a crowd of people who came to the fair in the center of the large city of Manname, Baden-Württemberg. According to local authorities, two people were killed, another ten people were injured (previously the Bild tabloid reported 25 victims).

Whether it was a deliberate attack or accident, the police cannot yet definitely say. However, such incidents in Germany cease to be rare. The correspondent of Novaya Gazeta Europe went to Mannheim to find out what happened.

Behind the tape

On March 3, in the so -called “frantic Monday”, when winter is finally retreating, in the West of Germany, the carnival season is traditionally completed - with fairs, costume guels and parades. However, for the inhabitants of Mannheim, the holiday ended unexpectedly early. At noon on ParadePlaz Square, the car drives into the crowd of visitors to the fair. An hour later, the authorities send local residents of the SMS to avoid the city center to avoid. The streets are quickly empty, the shops are closed, the police are on duty at the station, part of the main street is closed.

Recent incidents in Germany

Mangame himself was not so long ago in the spotlight for a similar reason: in May 2024, a 25-year-old Afghan attacked a rally with a knife and killed a policeman. In December, the car rammed the Christmas fair in Magdeburg, six people were killed. Already this February, a native of Afghanistan entered a trade union demonstration in Munich, two were killed.

At about three in the afternoon I come to Mangame. Not far from the station, on the corner of the central street, there was still a fast food cafe, three Ukrainians are sitting at the table: a woman, a man and a young guy in a cap and with a cigarette. “We were in the store [when the car hit the car], then the police quickly cordoned off everything and expelled everyone,” an eyewitness tells me, “I have a video, but the phone sat down, I can’t show you.” The man nods: "I saw the car, it was a car!" The guy in the cap silently smokes.

They don’t let anyone in the emergency tape, the police unfold a few onlookers and hallways. Two teenagers in tracksuits briefly explain, apparently, to the pensioners what happened: "Several people crushed."

- Tram? - the German is surprised.

“No, car,” they answer her.

The fence stretched for several hundred meters, but, having circled it, you can approach almost close to the scene. The square is already cordoned off, forensics and people in white protective costumes go back and forth.

The fountain is about to begin a police briefing. The press secretary of the police department Stefan Wilhelm says that the alleged criminal has been detained, but the authorities are not ready to talk about his personality.

The police believe that the offender acted alone, notes that so far they have not decided on the version of his motives (later from German publications it became known that investigators did not believe that the car had to have a political background).

It is also claimed that there are no more threats to local residents. A policeman through the media asks not to disseminate false information and not publish a video from the place of tragedy in social networks.

According to Spiegel, the detainee is a 40-year-old German citizen Alexander S. from the neighboring federal land of the Rhineland-Palatz. According to Bild, before the detention, the driver shot himself in his mouth from a gas pistol and received serious injuries. According to the German television and radio company SWR, earlier a man did not fall into the field of view of law enforcement agencies in cases related to extremism and terrorism. Spiegel adds that the suspect could have a criminal record.

The videos of eyewitnesses in Mannheim, including personnel with a torn limb of one of the victims, instantly scattered along social networks, causing a wave of rumors.

One of my interlocutors, a local resident, said that another attack also occurred in neighboring Ludwigshafen. Two interlocutors at the station said that they “heard somewhere”, allegedly attackers attacked people as a knife, after which shots were also sounded. “But we don’t know anything definitely, we only read about it,” one of them admits. We could not find confirmation of these messages.

After a briefing, a police officer Mangaym agreed to answer several of my questions. He confirmed that “the only place of the crime is here,” but refused to comment on the posts of shooting.

“The investigation continues. Of course, we will take into account the testimony of witnesses and the statements of citizens, and then compare them with other evidence ”,

He says.

He told other journalists that large officials will soon come to the city. Probably, we are talking about the Minister of Internal Affairs Nancy Fezer and the Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg Vinfrid Krechmann.

“The criminal police must first conduct an investigation so that the politicians have complete information,” the police officer said.

"I was just a meter from my body"

The tragedy occurred under the windows of the hotel. The adjacent territory is cordoned off, the guests come out with cautiously and go out, raising the tape. Near the hotel, opposite the scene, there is one of the witnesses. He says that he works in an office in a building in the square.

“I heard only a terrible roar. Something very loud, some kind of sound. I didn’t see the car itself and the roof itself, but I immediately ran to the window to see what happened, and heard the cries of people. It became clear that something serious happened, ”says the young man. He shows several times where and where the car was driving: from the sideplaces side in the direction of the water tower, local attractions.

“I went downstairs to see if I could help with something, at that moment I did not know what happened. I saw that on Earth a person lies without signs of life, he did not breathe. People in panic scattered, someone shouted for help, ”the witness recalls.

My interlocutor is sure that the blow was powerful: according to him, the car moved at a speed of at least 80 kilometers per hour. He also claims that he noticed traces of blood, and the victim’s body was thrown into several meters.

“It was a man. I would say that he was 40–45 years old. I was just a meter from my body, ”he says. According to an eyewitness, the ambulance arrived in seven to eight minutes, the police later. And the same black car at this time moved on:

“Of course, I was in shock. But for me at that moment it was important to make sure that nothing threatens me and others. It was necessary to understand whether there were still attackers or whether other cars could appear. But nothing more happened.

After that, I just tried to help people. They were in shock, some cried with fear, some simply could not stay on their feet. Other passers -by also helped, brought people out of the scene, ”he says.

The words of the interlocutor of the New Evrop about one of the victims are confirmed by the data of the German media. So, ARD claims that a 54-year-old man died, the second victim is an 83-year-old woman, according to Bild, ten people were injured, among them at least one child.

German Chancellor Olaf Sholts on social networks X expressed condolences to the families of the victims and injured in the attack in Mannheim. He called the incident “a meaningless act of violence” and thanked emergency services, noting that the townspeople will need time to comprehend what had happened.

The most likely next Chancellor Friedrich Mertz said the tragedy again raised the issue of security in Germany. In his post, he mentioned recent terrorist attacks and emphasized that the German authorities should do everything possible to prevent such crimes.