On 31 December 2018 and 1 January 2019, a car was intentionally driven into crowds of people in the cities of Bottrop and

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...

in Germany, injuring ten people. First media reports suspected a terrorist background. Later, the perpetrator was admitted to psychiatry and a surveyor certified that he is probably not guilty by reason of mental disease. According to the judgment of the court of December 2019, the act had no xenophobic or terrorist background, but was triggered by an acute episode of paranoid schizophrenia.

Attack

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...

, a 50-year-old attacker tried to hit a person with his car in Bottrop, but the man was able to avoid the vehicle. Minutes later, the man drove his car into a crowd of people at the Berliner Platz in Bottrop, injuring two men from

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

and Afghanistan, along with a woman and a child. In

, the man tried again to drive into a crowd of people who were waiting for a bus. Police stopped the man on the Rabenhorst street. Upon his arrest, the man reportedly expressed xenophobic and racist motives. The attacker is reported to have schizophrenia.

Reaction

Herbert Reul Herbert Reul (born, 31 August 1952) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been serving as State Minister for Internal Affairs in the government of successive Ministers-President Armin Laschet (2017–2021) and He ...

, Minister of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia said about the attack, that the perpetrator "wanted to kill people of foreign heritage."

Victims

In total, the perpetrator injured eight people, four of whom are a family from

, composed by two daughters aged 16 and 27 and the 48-year-old father who were slightly injured, and the 46-year-old mother who was critically injured and was operated. In addition, a 10-years-old boy also from Syria, a child of four years and a 29-years-old woman from Afghanistan were also hit and injured. The nationality and age of the eighth victim is unknown.Zahl der Verletzten in Bottrop und Essen erhöht sich
Zeit Online, 2: Januar 2019, Abruf 13. Januar 2019

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bottrop and Essen car attack 2018 road incidents 2019 road incidents 2018 in Germany 2019 in Germany 2010s in North Rhine-Westphalia Attacks during the New Year celebrations Attacks in Europe in 2018 Attacks in Europe in 2019 Bottrop December 2018 crimes in Europe Essen January 2019 crimes in Europe Vehicular rampage in Germany 2018 crimes in Germany 2019 crimes in Germany