Car attack in Germany

This item appears on page 16 of the February 2019 issue.

In Bottrop, Germany, a man drove a car into a group of people celebrating New Year's, some of whom were refugees from Syria and Afghanistan, injuring four people. Before that incident, the same driver had attempted to strike a pedestrian, who dodged the attack, and also attempted to target a group of people at a bus stop in the nearby city of Essen.

When the man was arrested, still in his car, he made racist and xenophobic remarks to police, leading authorities to believe that he was specifically targeting immigrants.