On March 3rd, 2025, tragedy struck in Mannheim, Germany. Similarly to the New Year’s attack in New Orleans, a vehicle was deliberately driven into a crowd of people at a central pedestrian area known as Paradeplatz at 12:14 PM local time. This attack resulted in the deaths of a 54-year-old man and an 83-year-old woman and the injuries of 14 others.
Surveillance footage of the incident revealed a black Ford Fiesta turning from the ring of the city center into a shopping lane, accelerating to over 37 miles per hour. The vehicle then struck a group of people seated on a bench, and a chaotic scene of victims on the ground and a slew of injuries ensued. The suspect continued his rampage until crashing into a wall and attempting to flee on foot. He was apprehended by police near Mannheim Harbor after attempting to shoot himself, but firing only a blank into his mouth.
This was not the subject’s first encounter with the police, however. 40-year-old Alexander Scheuermann had a history of drunk driving, assault, hate speech offenses, and other criminal behavior in his recent past. He was in psychiatric treatment as recently as August of 2024, and his motive has thus far been unclear. In cases like the New Year’s incident in New Orleans, motives are easier to piece together due to stark religious or political stance changes in a subject’s life. However, the Mannheim attacker has shown no indication of being motivated by such ideas.
During the emergency response, residents were advised to avoid the downtown area. At the site of the incident, Paradeplatz, an ecumenical and interreligious remembrance service was held to honor the victims. Additionally, a pastoral program deployed religious officials to support grieving citizens. The amount of vehicular terrorism that has occurred thus far in 2025 is regrettable, and this pattern should be recognized and curtailed in any way possible. While the two notable attacks mentioned in this article share many parallels on paper, there is no motivation in common between the attackers. Thus, it is most important to amend laws and statutes pertaining to vehicle safety, and what kinds of people are able to maintain unrestricted access to vehicles.
