At least five killed in pedestrian zone in Germany

Five people were killed and up to 15 injured on Tuesday when a speeding car plowed into a pedestrian area in the western German city of Trier in what authorities said appeared to be a deliberate act.

Witnesses said people screamed in panic and some were thrown into the air by the car as it crashed through the shopping zone. Police arrested a 51-year old man who was being questioned.

Prosecutor Peter Fritzen at a news conference Tuesday said that the suspect had drunk a significant amount of alcohol and that authorities were not working on the assumption that there was any Islamist militant motive to the incident.:

"The interrogation is ongoing so we can't say anything yet as to his motive. But we have no indications that the motive is of a terrorist, political or religious nature. There are indications that there could be psychiatric symptoms involved."

Mayor Wolfram Leibe who rushed to the scene described it as “horrible”...

Adding that a nine-month old baby was among the dead.

Germany has tightened security on pedestrian zones across the country since a truck attack on a Berlin Christmas market in 2016 that killed 12 people and injured dozens.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a statement about the incident (quote):

"The news from Trier makes me very sad. My sympathy goes to the families of those whose lives were so suddenly and violently torn away from them. I am also thinking of the people who suffered injuries, in some cases very serious ones, and I wish them strength."