2025 Munich car attack
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| 2025 Munich car attack | |
|---|---|
 Picture of the crime scene taken at the intersection of Dachauer Straße and Seidlstraße | |
| Location | Munich, Germany |
| Coordinates | 48°8′43″N 11°33′28″E / 48.14528°N 11.55778°E |
| Date | 13 February 2025 10:30 (GMT+01:00) |
Attack type | Vehicle-ramming attack |
| Weapon | Mini Cooper |
| Deaths | 2 |
| Injured | 37 |
| Motive | Islamism (suspected) |
| Accused | Farhad Noori |
On 13 February 2025, a Mini Cooper was driven into protesters at a demonstration organized by the trade union ver.di in Munich, Germany. Two people were killed, and 37 others injured in the attack. The suspect, a 24-year-old Afghan immigrant and asylum seeker, was arrested shortly afterward.
Attack
[edit]At approximately 10:30 am local time, a driver in a white Mini Cooper approached a police vehicle monitoring the end of a march organized by the ver.di services trade union with 1,500 participants near Munich's central train station.[1] The driver maneuvered around the police vehicle and accelerated into the crowd of marching people. Police fired one shot while they apprehended the attacker.[2]
At least 37 people were injured, including several children, according to Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter ten seriously.[3][4][5] One child was resuscitated on site.[6] A 37-year-old Algerian-born woman Amel and her two-year-old daughter Hafsa died from their injuries in hospital two days after the attack.[7][8][9][10]
Suspect
[edit]The suspected driver was a 24-year-old Afghan national Farhad Noori. Noori was born in Kabul in early 2001 and moved to Germany at the end of 2016 after spending time in Italy. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees rejected his asylum application, but he was granted a temporary residence permit. As a result, Noori became an unaccompanied minor and was taken into care by a German youth welfare facility. In September 2017, his asylum application was rejected by German authorities. He appealed the decision unsuccessfully.[11]
The city of Munich issued a toleration notice (Duldungsbescheid) in April 2021 and a residence permit in October 2021. Noori attended school and did a job training.[12] Noori did extensive bodybuilding in his free time and also successfully took part in a bodybuilding championship. He had accounts on several social networks, which have since been blocked or deleted.[13] On TikTok alone, Noori who presented himself as a fitness influencer, was followed by more than 32,000 people. Noori also published videos with Islamic content, but also numerous videos. He was detained at the scene.[14]
Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) incorrectly stated that Noori had committed theft and narcotics-related criminal offenses and had been subject to deportation and later acknowledged his error, saying that Noori had neither been convicted of any crime nor was he in Germany illegally. Noori reportedly had a residence and work permit from the city of Munich, and the Munich police announced that he was known to them for testifying as a witness while employed as a store detective while working for two companies.[1][12]
ARD Tagesschau reported that, while German authorities had not previously identified Noori as a political or religious extremist, he was reported to have recently posted "Islamist" material on social media.[11]
The motive for the attack was not immediately clear, although the perpetrator shouted "Allah Akbar," or "God is great," in Arabic to police officers after the incident, prosecutors said.[15][16] Interior Minister Herrmann speculated that the perpetrator probably spotted the demonstration march by chance.[11]
Reactions
[edit]Ver.di chairman Frank Werneke expressed his concern and sorrow. He said that the unions stood in solidarity.[17] Bavarian Premier Markus Söder (CSU) said the incident was suspected to be a terrorist attack. Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) expressed shock and concern for the victims.[18][19]
The attack occurred one day before the start of the Munich Security Conference, an event attracting international figures such as U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The third attack in three months by a person who had applied for asylum in Germany, it intensified political debates on immigration and public safety, already hot-button topics in the upcoming federal elections.[20]
See also
[edit]
- 2016 Berlin truck attack
- 2018 Münster attack
- 2020 Trier attack
- 2022 Berlin car attack
- 2024 Magdeburg car attack
- List of vehicle-ramming attacks
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Die Bayerische Polizei – Medieninformation der Polizei München vom 13.02.2025". www.polizei.bayern.de. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
- ^ Cole, Deborah (13 February 2025). "Driver who hit union rally in 'suspected attack' in Munich is Afghan asylum seeker, police say". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
- ^ Pitel, Laura (13 February 2025). "Afghan rams car into pedestrians in Munich, injuring two dozen". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 13 February 2025. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
- ^ "Car drives into crowd in Munich, Germany, wounding almost 30 people in suspected attack, officials say". CBS News. 13 February 2025. Archived from the original on 13 February 2025. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
- ^ "Mutmaßlicher Anschlag auf Menschenmenge in München: Was aktuell bekannt ist – und was nicht". Frankfurter Rundschau (in German). 14 February 2025. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
- ^ "Liveblog zu München: ++ Verdächtiger war doch nicht ausreisepflichtig ++". Tagesschau (in German). Archived from the original on 13 February 2025. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
- ^ Therrien, Alex (15 February 2025). "Mother and child die from injuries after Munich car attack". BBC. Retrieved 15 February 2025.
- ^ "Kind und Frau nach Anschlag in München gestorben" [Child and wife die after attack in Munich]. Stern.de (in German). 15 February 2025. Retrieved 15 February 2025.
- ^ upday, Team (15 February 2025). "Kind nach Anschlag in München gestorben". www.upday.com (in German). Retrieved 15 February 2025.
- ^ Familie der Getöteten: „Amel war ein Mensch, der sich für Gerechtigkeit eingesetzt hat“, Focus, February 15, 2025; retrieved February 15, 2025
- ^ a b c "Mann fährt in Menschenmenge – Was zur Tat in München bekannt ist". Tagesschau (in German). Archived from the original on 13 February 2025. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
- ^ a b {{Cite web |title=Tat in München: Verdächtiger Afghane war rechtmäßig in Deutschland |url=https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/innenpolitik/muenchen-anschlag-reaktionen-102.html |access-date=2025-02-14 |website=[[Tagesschau (German TV programme)|Tagesschau] |language=de}}
- ^ Felix Huesmann; Lucie Wittenberg (14 February 2025). "Anschlag in München? Was über die Tat und den Verdächtigen bekannt ist". RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (in German). Retrieved 14 February 2025.
- ^ "Several injured after car drives into people in Munich, Bild reports". Reuters. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Suspect in Munich vehicle ramming shouted' Allahu akbar' to police after attack: Prosecutor". ABC News. 14 February 2025. Retrieved 15 February 2025.
- ^ "München: Auto fährt in Menschenmenge – Hinweise auf Anschlag und islamistische Gesinnung". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). ISSN 0174-4917. Archived from the original on 13 February 2025. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
- ^ "Mann fährt in München mit Auto in Menschenmenge – Hinweise auf islamistischen Hintergrund". deutschlandfunk.de (in German). 13 February 2025. Archived from the original on 13 February 2025. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
- ^ Crossland, David (13 February 2025). "Munich attack: Afghan man arrested after car drives into crowd". The Times. Archived from the original on 13 February 2025. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
- ^ "Munich latest: Munich car ramming a 'suspected attack' say officials, and driver was 24-year-old Afghan". BBC News. Archived from the original on 13 February 2025. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
- ^ Pitel, Laura (13 February 2025). "Afghan rams car into pedestrians in Munich, injuring two dozen". Financial Times. Retrieved 13 February 2025.