German authorities are investigating after an Afghan asylum seeker ploughed into a crowd in Munich this afternoon, injuring some 28 people. In what the state premier said was likely an attack, the 24-year-old “sped up” in a Mini Cooper before crushing into 1,500 demonstrators – a German trade union based in Berlin. They had been calling for more pay in the country’s schools and hospitals.
Children are reported to be among the injured, as pictures from the scene showed a pram strewn amongst the wreckage.
German media sources report that the suspect was a failed asylum seeker who had posted Islamist social media content before the attack. The region’s interior minister said that the suspect was known to police in relation to drug and theft incidents.
According to the German news outlet Spiegel, the suspect is a Kabul-born male who arrived in Germany as an asylum seeker in December 2016 as a an “unaccompanied minor.” Reports say he had been taken into the care of a youth welfare facility, having previously been in Italy.
While the man, named only as Farhad N, had applied for asylum in Germany in 2017, he was rejected and unsuccessfully appealed the decision. It is understood that he was granted a toleration permit, meaning that his deportation was suspended. According to Spiegel, he had been required to leave the country since the autumn of 2020.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz said that the suspect cannot hope to be granted leniency, and must leave the country.
The attack, which comes just over a week before Germany is to hold a federal election, adds to concerns around terrorism and security in Germany. The country has been left reeling from a series of violent attacks in recent months, including a knife attack on a kindergarten group – prompting calls for the country to accelerate deportations and pause irregular migration.