Car hits group of people near Hannover, police fire at fleeing vehicle

What happened

Late on Monday, 26 October 2026, a car was driven deliberately into a group of people in Neustadt am Rübenberge, a town in Lower Saxony close to Hannover. A police spokesperson told the German Press Agency that four to five people were hurt, some of them seriously, and taken to hospital. According to the spokesperson, none of the injured is in danger of their life. The car did not stop after hitting the group, and the suspect or suspects got away from the scene. Reports published on Tuesday, 27 October, describe the act as deliberate, although investigators were still establishing the exact sequence of events.

Police fire on the fleeing car

Officers were carrying out a general traffic check close to the scene and reached the location shortly before midnight. To stop the car they fired on it, but the vehicle kept going. The occupant or occupants then fled on foot, and the car was left behind. The police spokesperson said numerous officers were deployed, some of them heavily armed, and that a helicopter and a police dog were also used. The area around the scene was cordoned off for several hours so that evidence could be secured.

Search and investigation

A large search followed, using police dogs and a helicopter, but no one could be arrested. The car was later found abandoned in the surrounding area. Investigators say that, based on initial findings, those involved knew each other. NOS reports that police assume the act was intentional and that the driver may have known the victims. The spokesperson said the course of events and the exact involvement of each person remain part of the investigation.

Conflicting accounts

Reports differ on how many people were involved. One account refers to a group of perpetrators, while others speak only of the suspect or suspects, so the number of people in the car has not been established. One report identifies the car as a BMW. The number of injured, four to five, is consistent across the reports, but the exact injuries of each person have not been published. The background to the attack has not been explained in any of the reports.

Status on Tuesday

By Tuesday, 27 October, the search had produced no arrests and the investigation was continuing. The facts confirmed so far are limited to the injuries, the police shots and the abandoned car. No motive has been published, and police have not yet said whether further suspects are being sought.