Munich, Germany – As the Munich Security Conference was poised to begin, a palpable sense of unease gripped the city following a disturbing vehicular attack in Stiglmaier Platz. On Thursday evening, the typically bustling area was eerily deserted after a vehicle rammed into a crowd, injuring 28 people, including two children. The attack bore grim resemblances to previous incidents in Germany involving crowded public spaces and speeding vehicles.
Just after 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, during a demonstration by the Verdi trade union primarily attended by teachers and their children, a white Mini abruptly accelerated, bypassing a police car to plow through approximately 1,000 demonstrators at 50 km/h. The chaos ended with the car immobilized, several individuals trapped beneath it.
Local eyewitness Udo Kunte described the moment of horror: “We heard the engine roaring from behind, the squeal of tires and then a succession of thuds. Police officers were quick to respond, pulling the driver out of the vehicle almost immediately.”
Authorities identified the assailant as Farhad N., a 24-year-old Afghan national with a history of minor criminal activities, including shoplifting and illicit drug use. He entered Germany in 2016 and had an asylum application rejected in 2017. Despite a deportation order issued in 2020, it had not been enforced.
Munich’s Mayor Dieter Reiter expressed his devastation over the incident, remarking on the difficulty of grasping the gravity of such a brutal act on what he described as “a terrible day.” The city, according to him, was in shock.
The response from local leaders was one of indignation and frustration. Jürgen Köhnlein, chairman of Bavaria’s police union, lamented the state of public safety, stressing that even those marching for better working conditions were not safe. The attack prompted strong reactions from various quarters, including condemnation from a leading Afghan community organization in Munich, whose head, Mohammad Imran Sedigi, labeled the attack barbaric and deemed individuals like the assailant a threat to both Germany and the Afghan community.
Political ramifications were immediate, with the attack occurring just days before Germany’s federal election, intensifying an already charged campaign atmosphere. Chancellor Olaf Scholz vowed that the justice system would exhaust all avenues to address the incident, emphasizing the necessity of punishing and deporting the perpetrator.
Meanwhile, opposition parties seized upon the issue of the attacker’s unresolved asylum status and pending deportation to criticize the government. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser was on the defensive, asserting that Germany had deported more Afghan nationals than any other European nation last year, despite the logistical challenges posed by the absence of diplomatic relations with the Taliban-led government in Kabul.
A spokesman for the federal interior ministry underscored that deportation responsibilities rest with state governments. In Bavaria, where the attacker was located, the interior minister acknowledged the existing deportation order but cited current circumstances that prevented its execution, allowing him to remain in the country.
In the aftermath, as police conducted searches at the suspect’s residence, a Taliban spokesperson indicated a willingness to accept nationals back under the condition of being permitted to establish a diplomatic presence in Germany, a proposal Berlin has yet to accept. As the city reels from the incident, the long-standing issues of migration, deportation and public safety remain in sharp focus, spotlighted by the tragedy that unfolded in Munich.