Authorities Say No Evidence of Terrorism in Heidelberg Car Attack

Authorities are reporting no indications of a connection to terrorism in the case of a 35-year-old German student who rammed his car into a group of pedestrians in Heidelberg on Saturday, according to The Local de. The suspect, who was shot and wounded by police after he attempted to flee the scene on foot, is being formally held on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.

"His motive remains unknown," officials told The Local de, saying that they had yet to determine if the suspect had acted with diminished criminal responsibility.

According to the BBC, the attack killed a 73-year-old German man and injured two others, a 32-year-old Austrian and a 29-year-old Bosnian woman. The injuries of the latter two people were reported to be minor.

The attack took place in one of the city’s central squares. After driving his car into a crowd of pedestrians, the suspect reportedly got out of his car armed with a knife. He was shot, injured and arrested by police, before being questioned on Sunday after waking up from surgery. He did not comment on the accusations against him.

The incident follows a December attack on a Berlin Christmas market near the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, which officials at the time determined was a terrorist attack. 12 people died in that incident and 49 more were injured when a tractor trailer jumped a sidewalk and drove through the crowded marketplace, prompting the city’s Christmas markets to close for a day afterward.