February 25, 2020

Andrew Campbell 

A silver Mercedes-Benz had broken through the police blockage at high speed directly and deliberately slammed into the crowd in a carnival parade on February 24 in the Germany small town, Volkmarsen. It has a population of about 6,000 and is located near Kassel in the north of Hesse State of central Germany. The carnival parade is a traditional event in the town. A local newspaper reporter said about 30 floats and 1,000 people took part in the parade with more than 5,000 people watching in the streets.

According to police reports, security at the carnival event had been tightened with surveillance drones deployed. The suspect named Maurice P., a 29-year-old German citizen, drove his car and intentionally rammed into the crowd of carnival celebrants. Eyewitnesses described at least 30 injured people were laying in the street and the walkway, with small children laying and crying as well.

The interior ministry had set up a special unit in the Frankfurt Police Headquarters to investigate the incident. So far authorities could not identify the driver's motive for the incident and probed for attempted homicide. Meanwhile, all carnival events across Hesse were canceled as a precaution after the incident in Volkmarsen. Chancellor Angela Merkel also sent well-wishes to those injured in the crash.

Photo:Webshot.