Several injured after car drives into crowd in Germany’s Munich 

At least 28 people have been injured, some of them seriously, when a car drove into a group of people in the German city of Munich, authorities say.

Authorities did not provide details of the incident near the centre of Munich that took place about 10:30am (09:30 GMT) on Thursday, including whether the victims were hit deliberately.

Police said on the social media platform X that the driver was “secured” at the scene and no longer posed any danger. A damaged Mini Cooper could be seen at the scene.

The fire service said at least 28 people were injured, two of them seriously, according to German news reports.

Al Jazeera’s Dominic Kane, reporting from Wetzlar, Germany, said the driver of the car is a 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker who was previously known to police due to drug-related offences and petty theft.

Kane quoted Bavarian Premier Markus Soeder as describing the incident as a “probable attack”.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz  said it was a “terrible attack”.

“We are shocked by a terrible attack in Munich,” he posted on the social media platform X on Thursday and added that “the perpetrator must feel the full force of the law.”

Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter said he was “deeply shocked” by the incident. He said children were among those injured.

A demonstration by the service workers union ver.di was taking place at the time of the incident. It was not immediately clear whether demonstrators were among the injured.

The incident throws security back into the spotlight before federal elections next week and after several violent attacks.

Kane said migration is a key issue leading into the February 23 elections, in which 60 million people are eligible to vote.

The incident in Munich also came as international leaders, including United States Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, arrive in the city for the three-day Munich Security Conference, which starts on Friday.