Munich car attack latest: Suspect had Islamist motive police suggest as child among 36 injured
German police believe a 24-year-old Afghan who rammed a car into a crowd of protestors in Munich may have been motivated by Islamist extremism.
The suspect injured 36 people when he drove a white Mini Cooper into the crowd and has admitted he had done so deliberately, police said in a Friday morning press conference.
A child was one of two people seriously injured in the attack, police added. The suspected attacker was named as Farhad Noori by the Munich public prosecutor, according to Reuters.
Islamist tendencies were discovered in Noori’s online communications, after police seized his phone and other electronics. There is no evidence he was a member of any Islamist organisation, police said.
“I’m very cautious about making hasty judgements, but based on everything we know at the moment, I would venture to speak of an Islamist motivation for the crime,” prosecutor Gabriele Tilmann said.
Noori, a keen body builder with thousands of social media followers, also said goodbye to his family members before the attack. “Tomorrow I won’t be here anymore,” he told family members.
The Munich Security Conference is set to open on Friday, with US vice-president JD Vance and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky due to arrive within hours.
