Man drives into crowd in apparent anti-immigrant attack in Germany

A man has been arrested in Germany after he reportedly drove his car into a crowd of people in what police are calling an intentional attack.

The incident, which happened shortly after midnight on Tuesday in the west central city of Bottrop, injured four people.

The driver, a 50-year-old man who was not named, appears to have directed his attack at migrants, the police said.

They said the man, who was driving a silver Mercedes-Benz, first tried to run over a group of pedestrians, who however managed to jump out of the way.

He then headed to the city centre and drove into a crowd. The people hit included Syrians and Afghans, some of whom suffered serious injuries.

The driver subsequently drove off at speed towards nearby Essen, where he attempted unsuccessfully to hit people who were waiting at a bus stop.

He was then arrested on suspicion of attempted homicide. The authorities said the man made anti-immigrant comments as he was being apprehended.

“Investigating authorities are currently working on the assumption that this was a targeted attack, possibly motivated by the anti-foreigner views of the driver,” police said.

There are indications that the suspect had a mental illness, they added.