First Responders

Car Drives into Pedestrian Crowd in Trier, Germany; 4 Reported Dead

December 1, 2020Nolan Peterson
Trier Germany

Cathedral of St. Peter and Church of Our Lady, Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Photo by Dietmar Rabich via Wikimedia Commons.

KYIV, Ukraine — At least four people are dead, including one child, and several more were injured after a car plowed into a crowd of pedestrians in the German town of Trier today.


According to area media reports, a car drove at high speed into a pedestrian zone in the historic center of Trier, in southwestern Germany. The town of about 100,000 residents is located near the border with Luxembourg. German police announced on Twitter that one person had been arrested, a 51-year-old German man from the Trier-Saarburg area, and the car involved in the incident had been seized. People should “avoid the area,” the police added.




After originally reporting two fatalities, Trier police later said “several” people had been killed, in addition to 15 injured. During a Tuesday afternoon press conference, Trier mayor Wolfram Leibe reportedly updated the number of dead to four, according to the local Trierischer Volksfreund newspaper, and RTL, the main television channel in Luxembourg. RTL also reported that 30 people had been injured. One child was killed, Leibe said, adding that the driver had gone on a “rampage.”


Trier’s police force reported that an investigation is ongoing into the background and possible motivation of the driver.


“We currently have no indications of an ongoing threat,” the police reported on Twitter.


A local witness reportedly told the Trierischer Volksfreund newspaper that a dark gray Range Rover had driven into the crowd.




“Thoughts are with the relatives of the victims, with the injured and with everyone who is currently on duty taking care of those affected,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert wrote on Twitter.


Through its Twitter account, the Trier police department has asked area residents not to spread disinformation or to post videos and pictures of the deadly incident online.


This is a developing story.



Nolan Peterson
Nolan Peterson
Nolan Peterson is a senior editor for Coffee or Die Magazine and the author of Why Soldiers Miss War. A former US Air Force special operations pilot and a veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Nolan is now a conflict journalist and author whose adventures have taken him to all seven continents. In addition to his memoirs, Nolan has published two fiction collections. He lives in Kyiv, Ukraine, with his wife, Lilya.
More from Coffee or Die Magazine
eric smith marine corps commandant nominee
Highly Decorated Marine Officer Nominated To Be Next Commandant

President Joe Biden has nominated a highly decorated Marine officer who has been involved in the transformation of the force to be the next Marine Corps commandant.

USS Arizona
Profile of a Ship: USS Arizona

When the USS Arizona sank, it took 1,177 crew members with it. Today it remains beneath the water as a memorial to all those who lost their lives at Pearl Harbor.

b1 bombers bosnia
US Bombers Fly Over Bosnia in Sign of Support Amid Continued Secessionist Threats

A pair of U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers flew low over Sarajevo and several other Bosnian cities...

SR-71 Blackbird
SR-71 Blackbird: The Spy Plane That Could Outrun Missiles

Lockheed Martin’s SR-71 Blackbird was a government secret for years. Now retired, a newer version plans to take its place.

medal of honor recipient remains returned
Missing 73 Years, Medal of Honor Recipient's Remains Return To Georgia

Soldiers of the 9th Infantry Regiment made a desperate retreat as North Korean troops closed in arou...

dear jack
Dear Jack: My Battalion Is Out of Control

In this installment of “Dear Jack,” Marine veteran and amateur life coach Jack Mandaville advises a lieutenant colonel on how to restore order in the lower ranks.

Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor: A Long and Epic History

For more than 150 years, the Medal of Honor has been used to recognize acts of extraordinary battlefield courage performed in service to the United States.

  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Careers
Contact Us
  • Request a Correction
  • Write for Us
  • General Inquiries
© 2023 Coffee or Die Magazine. All Rights Reserved