Members of the emergency services work at the scene where a car drove into a crowd in the southern German city of Munich on February 13, 2025 leaving several people injured, police said.
Michaela Stache | Afp | Getty Images
MUNICH — At least 28 people were injured Thursday when a car plowed into a crowd in what German authorities called a “suspected attack.”
The incident came the day before a major security conference attended by world leaders was set to begin. Vice President JD Vance is among those due to address the conference.
The U.S. Secret Service told NBC News: “There was no protective impact to the VP but we are monitoring that incident closely and German authorities are still investigating a potential motive.”
The car driven by a 24-year-old Afghan struck pedestrians around 10:30 a.m. (4:30 a.m. ET) in the city center, and prompted a “major” operation, police said. The driver of the car had been “secured” and posed no further threat, police said.
Police said the suspect, an asylum-seeker, was known to authorities for drug and theft incidents.
Press photos from the scene show the car involved was a white Mini, with personal belongings including shoes, a pair of glasses and a stroller strewn across the road.
In a news conference, Bavaria Gov. Markus Söder confirmed the incident is being treated as a possible attack. Earlier, Munich police said at least two people were seriously injured.
“This is simply terrible, ladies and gentlemen, when you receive the news, that once again someone rammed their car into a group of people. There are a lot of injured. It’s a slap in the face,” Söder said.
“We sympathize with the people, but we also need the determination to change things in Germany and fast,” he added without specifying exactly what he believed officials needed to do differently.
In December, five people were killed and 200 injured when a car drove into a crowd at a Christmas market in eastern Germany.
Police spokesman Thomas Schelshorn told NBC News at the scene that a motive remains unclear, but confirmed that a trade union demonstration had been taking place nearby.
The Munich Security Conference, an annual meeting of politicians and defense officials from across the world, is set to begin Friday amid a large police presence and tight security protocol.
Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are scheduled to meet with U.S. partners at the summit to discuss the war in Ukraine.
Bavarian State Interior Minister Joachim Hermann said at the scene this morning: “We do not know at the moment and do not assume that there is any connection with the security conference. But the motivation of this Afghan perpetrator must, of course, be investigated more closely.”
The Munich Security Conference posted on X that the organization was “deeply saddened” to learn of the car plowing incident, adding: “Our thoughts are with the victims and their families.”
The suspected attack comes 10 days before Germany’s federal elections.
