Two killed in German city car rampage

A car drove into a crowd in the western German city of Mannheim on Monday, killing at least two people and seriously injuring several others, local media reported, overshadowing carnival celebrations in the region where police had been on alert for attacks.

Police detained the car's driver and later said he had acted alone, with no broader threat seen for the public. The suspect is a 40-year-old German man from the neighbouring state of Rhineland-Palatinate, broadcaster SWR reported, citing the state interior minister of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Thomas Strobl.

The ministry did not immediately reply to an emailed request for comment. People were seen lying on the ground at the scene and at least two were being resuscitated, a witness told Reuters. It was unclear whether the driver acted deliberately or if there was any connection to Germany's carnival celebrations, which culminated on Rose Monday with a number of parades, although not in Mannheim, which held its main event on Sunday