Motorist drove into crowd ‘at 100 km/h’, killing two and injuring many more ‘after an argument’ in Germany, witnesses say

A motorist who drove into a crowd and killed two people carried out the fatal attack after getting into an argument, witnesses said.

A 33-year-old German man, identified locally as Jeffrey K, plowed through a pedestrian area in Leipzig’s city center at 5pm on Monday before being arrested.

The father-of-one sped through the busy area in a Volkswagen Taigo at a speed of 100 km/h, eyewitnesses told German newspaper Bild. The SUV then came to a stop in the market square.

Footage of the aftermath showed the wrecked vehicle, with a shattered windshield and dented hood, surrounded by police and emergency services.

When police arrived on the scene, Jeffrey K, a construction technician and boxing trainer, was still in the car and surrendered to be arrested without resistance, according to local reports.

About an hour after the incident, Leipzig Mayor Burkhard Jung confirmed that two German citizens had lost their lives: a 63-year-old woman and a 77-year-old man.

“We are mourning two deaths, currently three seriously injured and many more injured,” Jung said in a statement. Later that evening, candles were placed around the crash site.

According to Bild, an argument would have prompted the man to carry out the fatal attack, but this has not yet been officially confirmed.

A 33-year-old German man, locally named Jeffrey K, plowed through a pedestrian area in Leipzig’s city center at 5pm on Monday before being arrested

Rescue workers stand next to a damaged car that crashed into several people in Leipzig, Germany on Monday, May 4, 2026

Footage from the aftermath showed the wrecked vehicle, with a shattered windshield and dented hood, surrounded by police and

Photos from the scene showed dozens of emergency responders and personnel on the streets as crowds of onlookers gathered to watch after the impact.

The police cordoned off the market square and an ADAC rescue helicopter landed on the bustling Augustusplatz.

Later in the evening, Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer wrote on Instagram: ‘This shocks me deeply. My thoughts are with the victims and their families. I wish the injured strength and a speedy recovery.’

During a press conference in Meißen, he described the perpetrator as “mentally disturbed,” according to the local newspaper Leipziger Volkszeitung.

Saxony’s Interior Minister Armin Schuster echoed the statement, describing it as a “horrendous disaster.”

Police confirm that the perpetrator has been arrested and that there is no further danger. The Public Prosecution Service is further investigating two murder attempts and at least two attempted murders.

In previous reports about the incident, local broadcaster Radio Leipzig claimed that a person had been sitting on top of the vehicle as it drove through Grimmaische Strasse.

The broadcaster also quoted witnesses as saying several bodies were covered with sheets, as well as a stabbing.

Hosam Algaer, a Leipzig resident originally from Libya, said he narrowly avoided being hit by the vehicle before running after it in an attempt to help the injured until the car came to a stop.

He said: ‘The car braked and stopped. There was a woman on top, and she ended up dead under the car. She fell off the roof.

‘Thankfully, things weren’t any worse than they were thanks to the shouting. People quickly realized that an idiot was driving and fled.”

A city news release called the incident a “mass casualty event.”

While officials have not drawn any definitive conclusions about the suspect’s motive, some are describing the incident as an “Amokfahrt” – a German term meaning a madness-driven rampage.

These types of acts were “often associated with psychological instability,” Schuster said.

This image shows the busy area of ​​Leipzig city center where two people were mowed down and at least 20 injured on Monday evening

Police were still working at the scene this morning following the fatal impact

A police officer stands next to a body bag after a car plows into a crowd of people

Police said late Monday that “based on current knowledge” there is no basis to assume a political or religious motive.

Leipzig is located southwest of Berlin and has more than 630,000 inhabitants, making it one of the largest cities in East Germany.

Like other European countries, Germany has witnessed a spate of car ramming and stabbing incidents in recent years, some involving religious or political motivations and some carried out by people with mental health problems.

Last year, two people were killed in the western city of Mannheim when a 40-year-old man drove a car into a group of pedestrians, just weeks after a similar attack on a trade union demonstration in Munich that left two dead and more than 40 injured, including many children.

In December 2024, several people were killed in a car ram attack on a Christmas market in the eastern city of Magdeburg.

That incident came months after a stabbing at a festival in the western city of Solingen.