car rampage germany
© R. Priebe / www.globallookpress.com car outside an office building in Heidelberg, Germany, 25 February 2017.
A man armed with a knife has driven a car into people in the southern German city of Heidelberg, injuring three pedestrians, according to police. The suspect was shot after a short standoff with officers and taken to the hospital.

The incident occurred in Heidelberg's central square at around 16:00 local time (15:00 GMT), when a car drove into a group of people standing in front of a local bakery, German media report. Rhein-Neckar Zeitung reports that he deliberately drove into the crowd, citing eyewitnesses. However, this has not been confirmed by police.

The suspect, who was armed with a knife, then fled the scene and was later stopped by a police patrol. He was shot by an officer following a short standoff and was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.


The car used by the suspect was a rented one and had Hamburg vehicle registration places, the media report. Police have not identified the suspect so far, and his motives also remain unclear. However, police say they have no evidence proving that the incident was a terrorist attack, dpa news agency reports. The suspect reportedly acted alone.

A video has surfaced on Twitter showing the man's standoff with police. RT has worked to verify the Twitter video, collaborating it against images and information from local reports.