State governor Malu Dreyer said the dead included a young child and condemned it as a “brutal act.”
A baby was among four people killed and 15 injured when a car tore through a pedestrian shopping street in the southwestern German city of Trier on Tuesday, police said, after arresting the driver. Prosecutor Peter Fritzen said the driver, a 51-year-old Trier native, appeared to be suffering from “psychiatric problems” and had been under the influence of alcohol whilst at the wheel of his silver SUV. Police, who have been questioning the suspect, said they had “no indications of a political motive.” Prosecutors are considering requesting that the suspect be placed in psychiatric care, Fritzen told reporters. At the same press conference, Trier mayor Wolfram Leibe said among the dead were a nine-month-old baby and a 73-year-old woman. “I think this is Trier’s darkest day since World War II,” he said. “It’s a horror scene.” Also killed were a 25-year-old woman and a 45-year-old man. Fifteen people were injured, several seriously. Malu Dreyer, premier of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate where Trier is located, expressed shock that a baby was among those killed by the driver’s “insane act” and shared her condolences with all the affected families.
