Leipzig driver plows into shoppers, killing 2 in suspected attack

Investigators said the car moved along Grimmaische Straße from Augustusplatz toward the market, through a pedestrianized retail district that is normally crowded in the afternoon. The dead were identified as a 63-year-old woman and a 77-year-old man, both German citizens. Prosecutors opened a case on suspicion of two counts of murder and multiple counts of attempted murder, a rapid shift that reflected how quickly authorities concluded the crash may have been deliberate rather than accidental.

Police and prosecutors said they did not believe there was a political or religious motive based on current findings. They also said they were still evaluating photo and video evidence, while the Landeskriminalamt Sachsen crime-scene team joined the investigation. A tip line and an online portal were set up for witnesses as sections around Thomaskirchhof and Grimmaische Straße remained closed.

Mayor Burkhard Jung called the episode “a terrible tragedy,” and officials said the toll extended beyond the three people seriously hurt to include others with less severe injuries. Saxony Interior Minister Armin Schuster said investigators believed the suspect acted alone, while police chief René Demmler described the vehicle’s route through the center of the city and said there was no longer any danger to the public after the suspect was secured.