Driver steers car into crowd in Germany, targeting foreigners and using racial slurs

A man ploughed his car into a crowd of people in western Germany yesterday, injuring at least four in what appears to have been an intentional attack against foreigners.

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The 50-year-old driver of a silver Mercedes first attempted to hit a group of people in the city of Bottrop, but the pedestrians were able to jump out of the way, Muenster police said.

The suspect, a German man, then drove into the centre of Bottrop where he slammed his car into a crowd.

Police said those hit included Syrian and Afghan citizens, and some were seriously injured.

The driver then sped off toward the nearby city of Essen, where he tried and failed to hit people waiting at a bus stop before being arrested by police on suspicion of attempted homicide.

"Especially in my city, which stands out for the fact that we have a very good coexistence of all religions, all cultures, I am all the more horrified by this act and my thoughts are truly with the injured now,” said Bottrop Mayor Bernd Tischler.

“I very much hope that everyone will soon be well again."

The driver, whose name wasn't released, made anti-foreigner comments during his arrest and there were indications he suffered from mental illness, police said.

“It was the clear intention of this man to kill foreigners,” Herbert Reul, Interior Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, told the media in German today. "He…deliberately drove into a group of people and injured four in total, one was a child, one was seriously injured, was life-threateningly injured.

"Here in North Rhine-Westphalia there is no tolerance whatsoever for violent criminals, no matter where they come from, and the case will be fully resolved."

It's not the first time that a vehicle has been used as an apparent weapon in Germany.

In April, a German man drove a van into a crowd in Muenster, killing four people and injuring dozens.

The driver, who had sought psychological help in the weeks preceding the attack, then killed himself.

It appears to have been an intentional attack against foreigners, police in Germany say.