A 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker intentionally drove into a crowd in Munich, Germany, in an incident authorities are investigating as an act of suspected Islamic extremism.
A mother and her two-year-old daughter died from injuries sustained in the car-ramming attack during a labor union demonstration. At least 39 others were hurt.
The attack occurred Thursday, shortly before the Munich Security Conference. The suspect, identified by local media as Farhad N., faces 36 charges, including attempted murder, grievous bodily harm, and reckless driving.
“Sadly, we must confirm the deaths of a two-year-old child and her 37-year-old mother,” police spokesperson Ludwig Waldinger told AFP on Saturday.
The suspect reportedly confessed to deliberately targeting the crowd. Senior public prosecutor Gabriele Tilmann stated the suspect acted for “religious reasons,” leading authorities to classify the incident as an extremist attack.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited the attack site on Saturday, leaving a white rose at a memorial. He denounced the act, declaring the perpetrator “must face justice and be deported.”
Separately, in Villach, Austria, a 14-year-old boy was fatally stabbed on Saturday by a 23-year-old Syrian asylum seeker with legal residency. “I am outraged – angry at the politicians who have allowed stabbings, rapes, gang violence, and other serious crimes to become commonplace in Austria,” said right-wing leader Herbert Kickl, whose Freedom Party secured 28% of the vote in September’s elections but hasn’t formed a coalition government.