Car smashes into Munich crowd, injuring dozens

At least 28 people were injured when a 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker drove a car into a union demonstration in central Munich yesterday in a "suspected attack," police said.

The driver was arrested after police fired a shot at the car, the force said.

This came as the German city prepared to host a top-level security conference.

Children were reported to be among the injured - with some suffering serious wounds.

Participants in a demonstration by the service workers' union Verdi were walking along a street near downtown Munich at about 10.30am when the car overtook a police vehicle following the gathering, accelerated and plowed into the back of the group.

A damaged Mini Cooper could be seen at the scene, along with debris including shoes. "One person is lying on the street and a young man has been taken away by the police. People are sitting on the ground, crying and trembling," reporters for local media said.

This came hours before leading international figures, including US Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, were in the city for the high-profile Munich Security Conference, which is set to start today.

The incident occurred around 1.5 kilometers from the security conference venue at Bayerischer Hof hotel.

Security has been in sharp focus in Germany ahead of a federal election next week with migration high on the campaign agenda and following a string of violent attacks.

Agencies