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Suspect, 40, ‘shot himself in the mouth’ moments after car ploughed into crowd in Mannheim – killing two & injuring 14
Watch the unbelievable footage moments before disaster in the video player
THE suspect behind a deadly Mannheim car plough "shot himself in the mouth" after hitting pedestrians, prosecutors have said.
Footage caught the horrifying moment a black car sped through the busy German city before smashing into unsuspecting locals - leaving two dead and 14 injured.
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Thomas Strobl, the state interior minister of Baden-Wrttemberg, confirmed a 40-year-old German from the nearby state of Rhineland-Palatinate has been arrested.
Strobl say investigators believe initial checks show "no indication of an extremist or religious background".
Preliminary proceedings have started with the suspect facing two counts of murder and multiple attempted murders, Mannheim Chief Public Prosecutor Romeo Schluessler said at a press briefing.
German prosecutors have been unable to formally question the suspect due to him shooting himself after carrying out the alleged attack.
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He managed to survive as only a blank was fired and is now in a stable condition in hospital recovering, police prosecutors added.
Investigators believe they have "concrete indications that the perpetrator had a mental illness".
Terrified eyewitnesses say the motor raced from the tourist hotspot Paradplatz towards the city's water tower before hitting a group of people, according to .
One woman is seen sprinting across the road in CCTV footage and narrowly avoids getting hit by the deadly vehicle.
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Meanwhile another pedestrian attempting to cross jumps back in complete shock as the car darts past.
Onlookers are also seen fearfully turning their heads at the car - just moments before disaster.
Two people have been killed and 14 injured in the crowd plough, according to
Mannheim University Hospital have said they are treating three people from the crash - two adults and a child.
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Cops have confirmed that a driver drove into a group of people in Paradeplatz - a pedestrianised street in the city - at around noon when local workers will have been on their lunch breaks.
A carnival market was taking place at the time, meaning there were more visitors than usual in the city.
Among those in critical care are two adults and a child who are being treated at the city's University Hospital where the intensive care unit has declared a disaster alert.
Witnesses described heartbreaking scenes of children's shoes scattered on the floor among the debris caused by the carnage.
Cops have so far refused to declare the tragedy as an attack.
But cars have been used as deadly weapons in several terror attacks in recent months in Germany, with the country left reeling.
The Mannheim tragedy comes less than three weeks after an Afghan asylum seeker ploughed his Mini into a crowd in Munich, killing two and injuring dozens more.
Mannheim police have so far only confirmed one death and several other people being injured - without providing specifics.
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Several car parts were seen laying in the middle of the street near the Stohmarkt tram stop.
It remains unconfirmed whether the horror incident was an accident or an attack - as cops refused to give more details.
In the chaotic scenes, one video appeared to show medics sprinting towards victims laying injured on the ground.
The incident had been reported as a life-threatening deployment situation.
Officials pushed an alert on the Katwarn app telling people in Mannheim to avoid the city's downtown area due to a big police deployment.
Katwarn is used by officials to communicate information about major emergencies such as thunderstorms, militant attacks or fires.
Across Germany, scores of people took a long weekend off to celebrate carnival, including Rose Monday, when many cities hold parades.
Mannheims street parade had already taken place on Sunday.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser cancelled her participation in the carnival street parade in Cologne due to the events in Mannheim.
"The focus is now on saving lives, treating the injured and the initial investigations by the authorities in Mannheim," an interior ministry spokesperson told dpa.
The investigation is currently ongoing.
It comes a mere few weeks after the Munich car attack that resulted in the deaths of a two-year-old girl and her mum, as well as over 28 others injured.
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The Mini Cooper is said to have "sped up" and ploughed into the back of around 1,500 Verdi demonstrators - a Berlin-based German trade union - on Seidlstrasse in Munich.
The Minister-President of Bavaria, Markus Söder, labelled the shocking incident a "suspected attack".
Police said at the time that the suspect is a 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker who, the region's interior minister added, was known to cops in relation to drug and theft incidents.
And before this, a two-year-old boy and a man were killed in a stabbing in Aschaffenburg, in Bavaria.
This attack is thought to have been carried out by another Afghan asylum seeker whose application to stay in the country had been rejected.
In December, 2024, six people were killed and over 200 injured when a car rammed into a crowded Christmas market in Magdeburg sparking far-right protests.
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And in May last year, a knifeman was shot by cops after a stabbing rampage at an anti-Islam rally in southwest Germany.
One of his victims, German far-right firebrand Michael Stürzenberger, is said to be undergoing surgery for stab wounds to his leg and face.
The horror ordeal unfolded at a gathering in Mannheim for the BPE political group, which is known to hold anti-Islam views, and was live-streamed to thousands on YouTube on Friday morning.
Footage shows the moment the attacker also stabbed a police officer - and at least one other person was injured in the rampage.
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Islam critic Michael Stürzenberger, 59, had been taking part in a rally organised by German counter-jihad group "Citizens' Movement PAX Europa" when he was attacked and "seriously" injured.
Shocking footage showed a bearded man armed with a large knife lunging at Stürzenberger before they both tumbled to the floor.
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