At least 28 people have been injured, including children, after a car was driven into a crowd in a “suspected attack” in Munich, authorities said.

A 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker, Farhad N, has been arrested after officers fired a shot at the vehicle.

Workers taking part in a union demonstration were walking along a street when the car overtook a police vehicle that was accompanying the group, according to officers in the German city.

They said the car then sped up and ploughed into the back of the group.

Latest updates on Munich car crash

Bavaria state premier Markus Soeder said the incident was “suspected to be an attack”. Some of the victims were seriously injured, and the motive was unclear.

Officials believe the protest, by the service workers’ union ver.di, was likely targeted at random, according to state interior minister Joachim Herrmann.

He said the suspect was known to authorities in connection with theft and drug offences.

The man’s asylum application had been rejected, but he had not been forced to leave due to security concerns in Afghanistan, said Mr Herrmann.

Read more:
What we know about car ramming incident
Suspected car attack will fill Germans with dread

People were ‘crying and shaking’

A damaged Mini was pictured at the scene, along with items of clothing and bags, a broken pram, a shoe and a pair of glasses.

Sandra Demmelhuber, a journalist for local broadcaster BR24, posted an image on X showing the car surrounded by police and emergency crews.

She said: “There is a person lying on the street and a young man was taken away by the police. People were sitting on the ground, crying and shaking.”

A ‘terrible attack’

The incident happened at a square near downtown Munich, close to the city’s central train station at around 10.30am (9.30am UK time), police said.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the events “horrible” and a “terrible attack”, saying “an Afghan perpetrator has severely injured people, and that is not something that we can tolerate or accept”.

“This perpetrator cannot hope for any leniency. He must be punished and he must leave the country.

“The government will be starting flights back to Afghanistan despite the lack of diplomatic ties.”

The incident is not suspected to be connected to the upcoming Munich Security Conference which starts on Friday around a mile away.

Security has been in sharp focus in Germany following a spate of attacks involving migrants in recent months and ahead of a federal election later in February.

Read more from Sky News:
Recording captures audio of Titanic submersible implosion
Hamas says it will release Israeli hostages as planned

A two-year-old boy and a man were killed in a knife attack last month in Aschaffenburg, also in Bavaria. An Afghan whose asylum application was rejected was the suspect in that attack.

The killings followed knife attacks in Mannheim and in Solingen last year in which the suspects were migrants from Afghanistan and Syria, respectively – in the latter case, also a rejected asylum seeker who was supposed to have left the country.

A Saudi doctor known to authorities was the suspect in December when a car rammed people at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, killing six.

At least 28 people are injured after a car drove into a crowd in Munich, police have said.

The incident took place at a square near downtown Munich, close to the city’s central train station at around 10.30am (9.30am UK time), officials said.

Munich latest: Car ramming was ‘suspected attack’

Here is everything we know:

What happened?

The car was driven into the crowd on a street called Seidlstrasse in the central area of the city.

The crowd was taking part in a demonstration organised by a trade union, and a police car was following them as they walked, deputy police chief Christian Huber said.

“Then a vehicle approached it from behind,” he added.

“It approached the police car to overtake it, and then accelerated and drove into the back of the demonstration.”

A badly damaged cream-coloured Mini could be seen after the attack along with debris including shoes.

Bavarian governor Markus Soeder said it was “probably an attack”.

A man was arrested at the scene and police said a shot was fired as the arrest was made, but have not added any further details.

What we know about the victims

Children were among those hurt, Munich mayor Dieter Reiter said, and local police said at least two people are “very seriously injured”.

The premier of Bavaria – the region where Munich is located – said a total of at least 28 people were injured and said some were critically hurt.

Posting on social media, Munich police added: “Caring for the injured is currently the top priority.”

Who is the suspect – and do we know the motive?

Police say the man arrested was a 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker.

They added he is being held and does not pose any further threat.

The motives have not been confirmed by officials yet.

Attention has been drawn to the fact the incident happened about 1.5km away from where the Munich Security Conference is set to take place on the weekend, with international figures such as US vice president JD Vance already arriving for it.

But police have said the incident is not thought to be related to the conference.

Incident comes amid immigration tensions

Security has been in sharp focus in Germany ahead of a federal election next week and following a string of violent attacks.

Immigration has been a major talking point, with far-right party AfD doing well in polls.

German chancellor Olaf Scholz described the incident as a “terrible attack” and said the perpetrator “must be punished and he must leave the country”.

Read more:
Suspected car attack will fill Germans with dread
Hamas says it will release Israeli hostages as planned
Explosion in Taiwan kills at least four people

His comments come after the government said last year it was resuming flights for convicted criminals of Afghan nationality to their home country.

“It is very important for me to get the message across that anyone who commits crimes in Germany will not only be severely punished and sent to prison, they must also expect that they will not be able to continue their stay in Germany,” he said.

“That’s why I managed to get the government I lead to resume and carry out repatriations to Afghanistan, despite the lack of diplomatic relations,” he said.

He added: “We have already organized such a flight with criminals… we are also in the process of doing this in other cases. And not just once, but on an ongoing basis.

“This perpetrator cannot count on any leniency, he must be punished and he must leave the country.”

Confirmation that police are investigating the Munich car crash as a “suspected attack” will fill Germans with dread and add fuel to an already highly emotional election debate.

It’s just under two months since a Saudi doctor was accused of driving his car into a crowd at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, killing six and injuring hundreds.

On Thursday, authorities confirmed the 24-year-old Afghan driver of a mini that hit people in Munich has been detained.

Munich latest: Car ramming was ‘suspected attack’

Police allege that he sped up when he got close to a group of demonstrators.

It’s believed children are among the injured.

While people take in the horror of what has happened, they are acutely aware that next weekend voters will go to the polls in an election where the far right is currently coming second.

An attack in Aschaffenburg that killed two in January, where the suspect was also an Afghan man, meant the election debate was already firmly fixed on the topic of migration.

With the traditionally anti-immigration far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) proving popular, the current front runners, the Christian Democrats (CDU), hardened their position.

Read more from Sky News:
Recording captures audio of Titanic submersible implosion
Grimes criticises Musk for taking their son to Oval Office briefing

The leader Friedrich Merz published a five-point plan which included making border checks permanent and potentially turning away some asylum seekers as they tried to enter.

His draft motion only cleared parliament with the help of AfD votes, breaking a long-standing taboo of not working with the far right and prompting hundreds of thousands to take to the streets in protest.

Leaders of all parties have already denounced the suspected attack in Munich and pledged to take tough action, but the pain triggered by the senseless act will only widen divisions in this already divided country.