At least one dead, several hurt as car hits crowd in German city: police

BERLIN: A car driven into a crowd in the German city of Mannheim on Monday killed at least one person and injured several more, police said, adding that one person had been arrested.

Armed police shut down the inner city where a damaged car could be seen with the front window smashed. Two car ramming attacks in other cities since December have left eight dead. Mannheim was the scene of a stabbing attack at an anti-Islam rally last May in which a policeman was killed and five others wounded.

Police did not call the latest incident an attack but said a suspected "perpetrator" had been arrested after the car was driven through a shopping area around 12:15pm (1115 GMT).

"We can now confirm that a car was driven into a pedestrian zone and that one person was killed," said police spokesperson Stefan Wilhelm, adding that several people were injured.

"We can confirm that one suspect was arrested," he said, adding that "the investigation is continuing".

Wilhelm said residents had been urged "to avoid the inner city area" amid the major police operation. Officers with heavy weapons cordoned off the area and police helicopters were seen in the air.

The Bild daily said two people were killed and 25 injured in the incident, with pictures showing ambulances near the city´s historical water tower.

A reporter at the scene for news channel NTV said that "at least one person is lying covered under a tarpaulin" and that children's shoes were scattered in the debris scattered on the ground.

Police called on residents to avoid the city centre and stay indoors as the area was largely evacuated.

The Baden-Wuerttemberg state interior ministry had warned the population of a "life-threatening situation" through its disaster warning app.

The intensive care unit of Mannheim's university hospital declared a disaster alert.

German cities have seen several violent attacks, including stabbing sprees and car ramming attacks blamed on asylum seekers.

Last month a man drove a car into a trade union demonstration in the southern city of Munich, killing a two-year-old girl and her mother.

In December a car-ramming attack targeted a Christmas market in the eastern city of Magdeburg, killing six people and wounding hundreds.

Mannheim itself was the scene of a stabbing attack at an anti-Islam rally last May in which a policeman was killed and five others wounded.

Authorities were on high alert as Monday is the high point of traditional German carnival celebrations before the beginning of Lent.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on Monday before the incident in Mannheim that festivities were taking place "with high security precautions".

Mannheim had seen thousands take to the streets on Sunday for its own carnival parade.

Faeser cancelled her visit to the Rose Monday parade in Cologne to travel to Mannheim.

Security was a major theme in last month's general election, which was won by the centre-right