MUNICH — One person has been arrested after a car drove into a pedestrian area in the German city of Trier on Tuesday, police said, killing "several" people including a toddler.
"The arrested person is a 51-year-old from the Trier-Saarburg district," Trier police tweeted, adding that the vehicle had been "secured," without giving further details of the incident.
"We are still on site with strong forces for your safety and are working flat-out to clear up the background," they said, offering their condolences to victims.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a statement posted on Twitter: "The news from Trier saddens me very much. My sympathies are with the relatives of the people whose lives were taken so abruptly and violently."
Merkel added that she was in touch with local officials about the ongoing investigations.
Police initially said two people had been killed and then updated the death toll to "several" without specifying exact numbers. They also said "several" others had been injured.
"We have a lot of traumatized people who saw what happened," Trier Mayor Wolfram Leibe told press near the scene. Leibe said he did not know the motive for the incident.
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Trier police have also not said what they think motivated the incident, or whether it was believed to have been an accident.
They said there were "no indications of an ongoing hazard" and urged locals to avoid the area while emergency services were on site, and not to share videos and images on social media.
Malu Dreyer, Rhineland-Palatinate Minister President of Germany's Social Democratic Party, offered her condolences and said she was on her way to the city, in a statement on Twitter.
"I am shocked and deeply shaken by the act in my hometown," Dreyer said. "My condolences go out to the relatives of the dead. I wish all the injured that they recover soon and quickly."
Officials said there would be another press conference at around 7:00 p.m. local time (1:00 p.m. ET).
The city of around 110,000 people is in the far west of Germany, close to the border with Luxembourg.
According to the town's official website, it is the oldest city in Germany and is known for its "Porta Nigra" Roman-era gate. It is also the birthplace of famed philosopher Karl Marx.
Like other parts of Germany, Trier is facing some coronavirus restrictions including closed restaurants, theaters and cinemas, although parts of the town center including shops remain open ahead of Christmas.
Germany has tightened security on pedestrian zones across the country since a truck attack on a Berlin Christmas market in 2016 killed 12 people and injured dozens.
In February this year, a gunman killed nine migrants in Hanau, near Frankfurt, before killing his mother and himself. Only about a week later, a local man plowed his car into a carnival parade in the town of Volkmarsen, injuring 61.
This is a breaking news story, please check back for updates.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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