One person is dead and "a number" of people are injured, the police write on Monday afternoon. The car, a black SUV, is said to have driven into pedestrians at high speed. Whether it is a terrorist attack was initially unclear, but the car's driver has been arrested.
The police are urging Mannheim's 300,000 inhabitants to avoid the city center, this on the traditional carnival Monday, Rosenmontag, when thousands are expected to gather for various events. The city's carnival procession was held on Sunday, when 250,000 spectators were expected, according to SWR.
In advance of this year's carnival procession, security has been increased, reports Tagesschau. Many cities and towns in southwestern Germany are organizing carnival processions on Monday. This is particularly the case in cities like Cologne, Düsseldorf, and Mainz, where the festivities are expected to attract over half a million spectators in each city.
Vigilance is especially high in Germany after several car attacks recently. In December, a man drove into people at a Christmas market in Magdeburg and killed six people, and in mid-February, a young woman and her child were killed when a man drove into a group of demonstrators in Munich.
