Car Driven Into Group in Northern Germany Injures Four to Five, Suspects at Large

A BMW was driven deliberately into a group of people in Neustadt am Rübenberge, a town close to Hanover in northern Germany, shortly before midnight on Monday, October 26, a police spokesperson said on Tuesday. Reuters and the German news agency DPA both reported the incident on Tuesday, citing police. The people who were in the car fled and remain at large.

Neustadt am Rübenberge is in the German state of Lower Saxony, north-west of Hanover.

What happened near midnight

A police patrol was carrying out a routine traffic check nearby when officers became aware of the incident shortly before midnight. The patrol intervened and prevented further harm, and officers fired shots at the vehicle in an attempt to stop it, Reuters and DPA reported.

A DPA reporter at the scene described several damaged cars, with flat tires, a smashed rear window and bullet holes. Police did not initially say how many people were in the BMW.

The injured and the search

Four to five people were injured. Their injuries ranged from minor to severe, and some were seriously hurt, but none of the injured was in a life threatening condition, according to police reports carried by Reuters and DPA. The injured were taken to hospital.

The occupants of the BMW fled on foot, leaving the car behind. A search for them at first proved unsuccessful, and they remained at large in the reports published on Tuesday. Numerous police officers and a helicopter took part in the operation.

A targeted group, police say

Initial information suggests that those involved were known to each other. Initial investigations suggested the group was targeted deliberately, rather than at random, Reuters and DPA reported.

The Sun, citing the German newspaper Zeit, reported a police spokesperson saying: "We are not investigating a terrorist attack."

As of the wire reports on Tuesday, the occupants remained at large and the search was continuing.

What the reports establish

The wire reports establish a narrow set of facts. The incident happened shortly before midnight on Monday in Neustadt am Rübenberge. The injured numbered four to five, and they were taken to hospital. A patrol that happened to be checking traffic nearby stepped in, and shots were fired at the BMW. The people in the car left it behind and ran. Investigators are treating the choice of the group as deliberate, based on initial information that those involved knew each other, and police are not treating the case as a terrorist attack. How many suspects the police are looking for was initially unclear, DPA said.