“Deadly collision in Leipzig probably act of desperation, not terrorism”: perpetrator interned | News

German authorities assume that the man who killed two people in the center of Leipzig on Monday afternoon did not act from a “religious or political motive”. It was probably an act of desperation. The perpetrator will be interned, the German public prosecutor’s office reports.

According to the investigating judge presiding over the case, there are “serious indications” that the man committed the offenses on May 4 in a condition that has “at least significantly reduced” his criminal responsibility, said a statement on Tuesday. That’s why the judge places him in a psychiatric institution.

On Monday at 4:45 p.m., the man hit several people with his car in the center of the eastern German city of Leipzig. The driver allegedly drove about 500 meters through the pedestrian zone of Grimmaische Straße at a speed of 70 to 80 kilometers per hour. Two people died on the spot. There is still a lot of uncertainty about the number of injured, but according to the police and the public prosecutor’s office, at least three people were seriously injured.

It became known on Monday that the perpetrator was said to have been a “confused” man. According to German media, the 33-year-old German had recently voluntarily admitted himself to a psychiatric institution, but he reportedly left that institution at the end of April. According to local authorities, there were “no medical reasons” to require the man to stay in the institution longer.

The motive of the perpetrator is also still unclear, but the mayor and the state government have already stated that there are currently no indications of a terrorist-motivated act. However, the collisions were probably intentional. It was probably an act of desperation.

Further investigation should now provide more clarity about the circumstances of the facts and the driver’s motive. The man is suspected of double murder and multiple attempted murder.