At least two people have been killed and several others injured in the German city of Trier by a local resident who ploughed a large vehicle through the city's pedestrian area.
One of the victims confirmed dead is a child, with the city mayor telling journalists at a press conference that it was a girl of unspecified age, German media reports, with additional reporting, so far unconfirmed, reporting as many as four deadly victims.
Local police said on Twitter that they had arrested one suspect, described as "a 51-year-old man from the Trier-Saarburg district" in connection with the attack and that one vehicle had been seized.
Police first reported the incident at around 2:00 PM on Tuesday and urged local residents to avoid the centre of the southwestern German city, located near the border with Luxembourg.
Trier authorities urged residents to avoid posting footage and photos of the incident on social media to avoid spreading misinformation.
As many as 15 people have been reported injured as reports emerge from the scene, according to statements by the mayor to a local broadcaster, the Associated Press reports.
A police spokesperson told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that the driver appeared to have crashed through Simeonstrasse, a popular shopping street in the pedestrian area, to hit people "at random."
The spokesperson added that police vehicles managed to corner the driver and that the perpetrator resisted the arrest.
The motivations behind the suspected perpetrator's onslaught remain unclear. Police said on Twitter they currently had "no indications of an ongoing threat.
"The crime scene work is done at full speed, as is the investigation into the background," they wrote.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussles Times
