A man drove a car into pedestrians in two neighboring German cities overnight to New Year's Day, injuring five people in what police say could be attacks motivated by the xenophobic attitude of the driver.
Shortly after midnight, the 50-year-old man is reported to have driven a silver Mercedes deliberately at one male pedestrian in Bottrop, who managed to avoid being hit. The driver then continued on toward the inner city, where he rammed into a group of people standing next to the street, injuring at least four, some seriously.
Police say that the victims included Syrian and Afghan nationals.
The man also tried to drive into a group of people waiting at a bus stop in the neighboring Ruhr city of Essen, before he was stopped and arrested by police.
Fourth attack
Herbert Reul, the interior minister of the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), in which both cities are situated, said later on Tuesday that the man had tried to drive into yet another group of people in Essen, causing slight injury to one person.
The mayor of Bottrop, Bernd Tischler, said he was "horrified and deeply affected" by the attacks and hoped that those injured would recover quickly.
Tischler said that celebrations for the 100th anniversary of Bottrop's being given town privileges scheduled for Tuesday had been canceled "in view of the terrible events."
Anti-foreigner remarks
Police said the man, said to live in Essen, made racist comments after he was arrested. They also said they had received information suggesting that the man was suffering from a mental illness.
Reul said the driver had "the clear intention of killing foreigners" and that the incident "had to be taken very seriously."
He said that intensive investigations were underway, adding that there was "absolutely no tolerance" for violent criminals in NRW, no matter what their persuasion.
A 46-year-old woman had been in temporary danger of her life, and a child was among the injured, according to reul.
The case recalls an incident in the city of Münster last Aprilin which a man drove a van into people in a city square, killing four and injuring more than 20. The 48-year-old man then fatally shot himself. Police said the man was mentally ill and had wanted to commit suicide.
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