A man injured four people in Germany after driving into a group celebrating the new year, in what police described as an anti-migrant attack Tuesday.

“The authorities think that this is a targeted attack, motivated by the driver’s hostility to foreigners,” said the Essen prosecutors office and Muenster police.

They also said they thought the 50-year-old suspect has mental health issues.

The incident took place a little after midnight in the town of Bottrop, about 12 kilometres (eight miles) north of Essen in Germany’s west.

The driver first tried to run over a person, but they managed to get out of the way.

He then drove into a group setting off fireworks in the street, as many people do when celebrating the new year in Germany.

Four people were injured, some of the seriously, said police, adding that they were of Afghan and Syrian origin.

A little later, the driver attempted another attack in a town close to Essen, without managing to injure anyone.

He made “remarks hostile to foreigners” while being arrested by police, said officials. </s> A man injured four people in Germany after driving into a group celebrating the new year, in what police described on Tuesday as an anti-migrant attack.

"The authorities think that this is a targeted attack, motivated by the driver's hostility to foreigners," said the Essen prosecutors office and Muenster police.

They also said they thought the 50-year-old suspect has mental health issues.

The man "clearly intended to kill foreigners," said North Rhine-Westphalia state interior minister Herbert Reul.

The incident took place a little after midnight in the town of Bottrop, about 12 kilometres (eight miles) north of Essen in Germany's west.

The driver first tried to run over a person, but they managed to get out of the way.

He then drove into a group setting off fireworks in the street, as many people do when celebrating the new year in Germany.

Four people were injured, some of them seriously, said police, adding that they were of Afghan and Syrian origin. The interior ministry said a woman was among the seriously wounded.

A little later, the driver attempted another attack in a town close to Essen, without managing to injure anyone.

He made "remarks hostile to foreigners" while being arrested by police, officials said.

There was a similar incident in Japan, where a man deliberately ploughed his car into crowds celebrating New Year's Eve along a famous Tokyo street, injuring nine people.

According to national broadcaster NHK, the man told police he was acting in "retribution for the death penalty" without giving more precise details. </s> A man injured four people in Germany after driving into a group celebrating the new year, in what police described on Tuesday as an anti-migrant attack.

 

 "The authorities think that this is a targeted attack, motivated by the driver's hostility to foreigners," said the Essen prosecutors office and Muenster police.

 

 They also said they thought the 50-year-old suspect has mental health issues.

 

 The man "clearly intended to kill foreigners," said North Rhine-Westphalia state interior minister Herbert Reul.

 

 The incident took place a little after midnight in the town of Bottrop, about 12 kilometres (eight miles) north of Essen in Germany's west.

 

 The driver first tried to run over a person, but they managed to get out of the way.

 

 He then drove into a group setting off fireworks in the street, as many people do when celebrating the new year in Germany.

 

 Four people were injured, some of them seriously, said police, adding that they were of Afghan and Syrian origin.

 

 The interior ministry said a woman was among the seriously wounded.

 

 A little later, the driver attempted another attack in a town close to Essen, without managing to injure anyone.

 

 He made "remarks hostile to foreigners" while being arrested by police, officials said.

 

 There was a similar incident in Japan, where a man deliberately ploughed his car into crowds celebrating New Year's Eve along a famous Tokyo street, injuring nine people.

 

 According to national broadcaster NHK, the man told police he was acting in "retribution for the death penalty" without giving more precise details. </s> A dozen people have been injured in two separate car attacks, after authorities say motorists deliberately plowed through New Year's crowds celebrating in Germany and Japan just after the clock struck midnight.

In Western Germany, Münster Police say a 50-year-old man apparently set out on a rampage to kill foreigners in the first hour of 2019 in the city of Bottrop.

First he drove into a group of people who managed to leap out of the way, police said. He then headed toward the city center where he slammed his silver Mercedes into another group, injuring at least four. Syrian and Afghan nationals were among those seriously injured.

Next, the man drove to the nearby city of Essen where he tried and failed to hit people waiting at a bus stop, according to authorities. He was then placed under arrest, when police said he made "xenophobic remarks." Police said there are also signs the unidentified man is suffering from a mental illness.

And in Tokyo a 21-year-old man is under arrest after authorities say he deliberately slammed into revelers gathered in a bustling downtown district early Tuesday, hitting eight. A ninth person was hurt after the driver jumped out of his vehicle and punched him, reports The Associated Press.

The man fled on foot, but police found him shortly after in a park, according to The Japan Times. The newspaper reports the man told authorities that he had perpetrated the act "in retaliation for an execution."

It would not be the first time a vehicle was weaponized in Tokyo. In 2008, a man killed several people after driving into a crowd of pedestrians, before jumping out and stabbing people with a knife, Reuters reports.

Germany has also seen recent vehicle attacks.

In April, a van driver killed two and injured twenty after accelerating into a crowd in Münster, police said. And in 2016 in Berlin, 12 were killed and dozens were injured when a driver barreled his truck into a Christmas Market.

The worst such incident on record occurred in Nice, France, on Bastille Day, 2016, when a truck driver mowed down scores of people, killing more than 80. </s> Car Attacks In Japan And Germany Mar New Year's Celebrations

A dozen people have been injured in two separate car attacks, after authorities say motorists deliberately plowed through New Year's crowds celebrating in Germany and Japan just after the clock struck midnight.

In Western Germany, Münster Police say a 50-year-old man apparently set out on a rampage to kill foreigners in the first hour of 2019 in the city of Bottrop.

First he drove into a group of people who managed to leap out of the way, police said. He then headed toward the city center where he slammed his silver Mercedes into another group, injuring at least four. Syrian and Afghan nationals were among those seriously injured.

Next, the man drove to the nearby city of Essen where he tried and failed to hit people waiting at a bus stop, according to authorities. He was then placed under arrest, when police said he made "xenophobic remarks." Police said there are also signs the unidentified man is suffering from a mental illness.

And in Tokyo a 21-year-old man is under arrest after authorities say he deliberately slammed into revelers gathered in a bustling downtown district early Tuesday, hitting eight. A ninth person was hurt after the driver jumped out of his vehicle and punched him, reports The Associated Press.

The man fled on foot, but police found him shortly after in a park, according to The Japan Times. The newspaper reports the man told authorities that he had perpetrated the act "in retaliation for an execution."

It would not be the first time a vehicle was weaponized in Tokyo. In 2008, a man killed several people after driving into a crowd of pedestrians, before jumping out and stabbing people with a knife, Reuters reports.

Germany has also seen recent vehicle attacks.

In April, a van driver killed two and injured twenty after accelerating into a crowd in Münster, police said. And in 2016 in Berlin, 12 were killed and dozens were injured when a driver barreled his truck into a Christmas Market.

The worst such incident on record occurred in Nice, France, on Bastille Day, 2016, when a truck driver mowed down scores of people, killing more than 80. </s> Image copyright AFP/Getty Images

A 50-year-old German man has been killed and six people injured in a knife attack in a Hamburg supermarket.

Police said the suspect was 26 years old and born in the United Arab Emirates. They said he acted alone and he was overpowered by passersby.

Mayor Olaf Scholz said the attack was motivated by "hate" but did not say it was a terror attack.

There are unconfirmed reports that the man shouted "Allahu akhbar", Arabic for "God is great" while attacking people.

Police said they were still seeking to confirm his current nationality. Mr Sholz said he was a failed asylum seeker.

The man attacked customers in the supermarket at random, ran outside and was chased by customers and by people outside the shop. They brought him to the ground before he was detained by plain-clothes police officers.

Mobile phone footage on German media that is purportedly of the attack's aftermath shows several people chasing a man and throwing chairs at him.

A 50-year-old woman and four men aged between 19 and 64 were stabbed, while a 35-year-old man was injured while helping overcome the suspect.

The attack happened in the Barmbek region in the north of the city in a branch of Edeka, Germany's largest supermarket chain.

Police say the man's weapon may have looked like a machete but they are, for now, assuming it was a kitchen knife.

One eyewitness made a gesture about 50cm (20 in) long when asked on German TV how big the knife was.

Asked whether this was a terror attack, a police official told the BBC: "We are at an early stage of the investigation... At the moment we can't rule anything out. We are investigating all avenues."

Speculation in German media said the attack may have been part of a robbery attempt but police said that that motive could not be confirmed.

One eyewitness, who ran from the scene into a nearby shop as the situation unfolded, told German broadcaster NTV that it seemed "hectic and confused, not like a properly planned attack". </s> BERLIN : A far-right German MP was seriously injured in a "politically motivated" gang attack in the north of the country, the police said yesterday.

Mr Frank Magnitz, leader in Bremen of the anti-immigration populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD), was assaulted in the city centre on Monday afternoon.

"Given the victim's work, we believe this is a politically motivated act," the police said.

AfD published a photo of Mr Magnitz unconscious on a hospital bed, his face bleeding and swollen with a gash on his forehead. It said three masked men had carried out the attack.

"They hit him with a piece of wood until he was unconscious and then kicked him on the ground," a statement from the party said, adding that a construction worker had intervened to stop the assault.

"Today is a dark day for democracy in Germany."

AfD leader Joerg Meuthen tweeted that Mr Magnitz was "beaten almost to death" in a "cowardly and sickening" attack.

Mr Johannes Kahrs, an MP from the Social Democrats, junior partners in the ruling coalition, said "violence is never acceptable" and "extremism in any form is rubbish". He wished Mr Magnitz a quick recovery.

Mr Cem Ozdemir of the opposition Greens party said he hoped those responsible could be "found and convicted soon" and that, even against a far-right party, "nothing justifies violence".

"Those who fight hate with hate only allow hate to win in the end," said the politician of Turkish origin.

Last week, an explosive device detonated in a rubbish bin damaged an AfD office in Saxony. Three suspects were detained.

And last weekend in Lower Saxony, the home of a local AfD politician was targeted with graffiti and a party office was attacked with a paint bomb. </s> A 73-year-old German man died from his injuries after he was run over by a car in a central square in Heidelberg, a city in southwest Germany on Saturday evening. The vehicle rammed into a pedestrian zone, injuring the man fatally and slightly injuring two other people, a 32-year-old Austrian man and a 29-year-old woman from Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The driver fled the scene and was shot by police while trying to make his escape. He was seriously injured and brought to a nearby hospital. According to local newspaper "Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung," the man is currently not fit to be questioned.

Police secured the crime scene after a man hit several pedestrians with a car in front of a bakery in downtown Heidelberg

Police identified him as a 35-year old German.

"There are no indications of a terrorist background," police spokesman David Faulhaber told reporters. He said that he could not comment on possible motives for the attack.

On Twitter, the police responded to speculations that the driver was an immigrant, writing: "And again, for everyone: #Suspect: German with NO immigrant background!"

In an interview with broadcaster n-tv, police officer Norbert Schaetzle said that the man was believed to be carrying a knife. Schaetzle did not confirm whether the man was mentally disturbed, but said that that the perpetrator likely acted alone. The vehicle the man used was a rental car.

The man fled from his rental car after injuring three people

The "Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung" cited police as saying that the suspect had stopped at a red traffic light, but then accelerated after the light turned green without stopping, leading his car to smash into a group of people.

The site of the initial incident was a square usually buzzing with foot traffic, located near several public transportation stations and at the entrance to a popular shopping district in Heidelberg. The city is primarily known as a university town - about a quarter of its 150,000 residents are students. Heidelberg is home to Germany's oldest university and several reputable research institutions.

Attacks with vehicles are a sensitive topic to many Germans. The country has been on high alert since a 24-year old man with suspected ties to the so-called "Islamic State" (IS) drove a stolen truck into a crowded Christmas Market in downtown Berlin in December last year, killing 12 people. In July 2016, a similar attack in Nice, France, left 86 people dead.

Police tracked the man down to a location a few hundred meters from the scene of the crime

"A man drove into a group of people, three persons hurt, suspect captured and shot," local police wrote on Twitter, using the Hashtag #Bismarckplatz, the name of the square where the man drove the car.

Police also shared a photo of investigators at the crime scene with the caption "our colleagues are investigating."

rs/mb/jm/cl (AFP, dpa, Reuters) </s> BERLIN
• A far-right German MP was seriously injured in a "politically motivated" gang attack in the north of the country, police said yesterday.

Mr Frank Magnitz, leader in Bremen of the anti-immigration populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD), was assaulted in the city centre on Monday afternoon.

"Given the victim's work, we believe that this is a politically motivated act," the police said.

The AfD party published a photograph of Mr Magnitz unconscious on a hospital bed, his face bleeding and swollen with a gash on his forehead.

It said three masked men had carried out the attack.

"They hit him with a piece of wood until he was unconscious and then kicked him on the ground," a statement from the party said, adding that a construction worker had intervened to stop the assault. "Today is a dark day for democracy in Germany."

AfD leader Joerg Meuthen tweeted that Mr Magnitz was "beaten almost to death" in a "cowardly and sickening" attack.

Mr Johannes Kahrs, an MP from the Social Democrats, junior partners in the ruling coalition, said that "violence is never acceptable" and that "extremism in any form is rubbish".

Mr Cem Ozdemir of the opposition Greens party said he hoped those responsible could be "found and convicted soon" and that "nothing justifies violence".

"Those who fight hate with hate only allow hate to win in the end," added the politician, who is of Turkish origin.

Last week, an explosive device detonated in a rubbish bin damaged an AfD office in Saxony. Three suspects were detained.

And last weekend in Lower Saxony, the home of a local AfD politician was targeted with graffiti while a party office was attacked with a paint bomb.

The AfD entered Germany's Parliament with almost 13 per cent of the vote in September 2017, making it the strongest opposition party in the Bundestag Lower House.

The party is expected to make gains in European elections in May and three regional polls in the former communist east later this year.
Five people are injured after a man intentionally drives a car into multiple crowds of people in the cities of Bottrop and Essen, Germany. Police say the incident appears to be a xenophobic, far-right attack.