Dozens injured in Munich car ramming as city prepares for high-stakes security conference

A car plowed into demonstrators in Munich on Thursday injuring at least 28 people, in what a local official said was a suspected attack, shortly before world leaders were due in the southern German city for a high-level security conference.

The suspect is believed to be a 24-year-old asylum-seeker from Afghanistan, Munich police director, Christian Huber, told reporters. Bavarian governor Markus Söder said the incident “is suspected to be an attack,” The Associated Press reported.

Children were among the injured, according to the city’s mayor, Dieter Reiter.

Authorities launched a major operation near the city’s central train station, a spokesperson said, according to Reuters. Police detained the driver and did not consider him a further threat, the force said in a post on X.

On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US Vice President JD Vance and other top diplomats will attend the Munich Security Conference, about 1 mile (1.5 kilometers) from the location of Thursday’s incident.