Berlin, Germany, July 25, 2026
The Christopher Street Day event in the German capital, which attracts thousands of people each year, was attacked on Saturday night by a 21-year-old suspect who police said was linked to the “Islamic scene” in Berlin. One person was killed and 16 others were injured, while the suspect, identified as Abdul B, fled the scene.
Leipzig, Germany, May 4, 2026
In early May a car drove through a crowd in the eastern German city of Leipzig, killing two people and injuring 20 others. The suspect in the case was described as a 33-year-old German national and local resident who was known to police, although not for relevant crimes.
Mannheim, Germany, March 3, 2025
At least two people were killed and several others were injured in the southwestern German city of Mannheim in 2025 when a motorist intentionally drove his car into a crowd of people, according to police and government prosecutors. Authorities have identified the suspect as a 40-year-old German man. Law enforcement ruled out any political motive at the time, although the man paid a fine under Germany’s hate crimes laws for a comment he made on the social media platform in 2018.
Munich, Germany, February 13, 2025
A 37-year-old woman and her two-year-old daughter were killed in Munich in February last year when a car rammed into a demonstration organized by the trade union Verdi. A 25-year-old Afghan man was later prosecuted for their murder, as well as the attempted murder of dozens of others injured in the attack.
New Orleans, United States, January 1, 2025
A vehicle plowed into a crowd of revelers in New Orleans on New Year’s Eve 2025, killing 14 people and injuring dozens more. The driver of the vehicle and two police officers were killed in a shootout that broke out immediately after the attack, which occurred around 3:15 a.m. local time. The FBI said it was investigating the incident as an act of terrorism.
Magdeburg, Germany, December 20, 2024
At least six people have been killed and more than 300 injured when a man rammed a rented BMW SUV into a Christmas market in eastern Germany. The suspect arrested at the scene was a 50-year-old doctor, originally from Saudi Arabia, who had expressed anti-Muslim views and support for the far-right AfD party. In June 2026, he was sentenced to life imprisonment, with the court more or less ruling out the possibility of early release, taking into account the gravity of his crime.
Zhuhai, China, November 11, 2024
On November 11, 2024, a 62-year-old driver plowed a small SUV into people exercising at a sports complex in southern China, killing 38 people in the country’s deadliest act of mass murder in years. Another 48 were injured. Authorities said the perpetrator was upset about his divorce but provided few other details about his motive. The man was detained and sentenced to death and was executed in January 2025.
London, Canada, June 6, 2021
Four members of a Muslim family out for a walk were killed when an attacker hit them with a pickup truck, in what then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called “a terrorist attack motivated by hate.” The 23-year-old white nationalist attacker was sentenced to life in prison.
Toronto, Canada, April 23, 2018
A 25-year-old Canadian man drove a rented van into pedestrians, mostly female, on a main street in Toronto, killing 10 and injuring 16. He told police he belonged to an online “incel” community of sexually frustrated men. He was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years.
New York, United States, October 31, 2017
An Uzbek man killed eight people and seriously injured 12 others when he drove his rented pickup truck onto a bike path in New York City. Allegedly inspired by the call to action by the terrorist group “Islamic State”, he was sentenced to eight consecutive life terms and an additional 260 years in prison.
Barcelona, Spain, August 17, 2017
A man driving a van plowed into people on the busy Las Ramblas boulevard in the Spanish city, killing 14 people and injuring several others.
“Islamic State” claimed responsibility, with members of the same cell carrying out a similar vehicle attack in the nearby resort town of Cambrils before being shot dead by police.
The perpetrator of the Ramblas attack was killed by police on August 21 after several days on the run.
Charlottesville, United States, August 12, 2017
A white supremacist intentionally drove his car into a crowd of protesters who were protesting a “Unite the Right” rally, killing one woman and injuring dozens. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
London, United Kingdom, March to June, 2017
2017 saw a spate of vehicle attacks in the British capital, starting on March 22, when a British-born 52-year-old man drove an SUV into people on Westminster Bridge, killing four people, and then stabbed a policeman to death. The perpetrator – who was a convert to Islam – claimed to wage jihad in revenge for Western military action in Muslim countries. He was shot dead.
On 3 June, three Islamist attackers drove a van into pedestrians on London Bridge before stabbing people in the city’s Borough Market. Eight people were killed and the attackers were killed by the police.
Later that month, on 19 June, a 47-year-old man radicalized with far-right views drove a van into worshipers outside a mosque in the Finsbury Park area of London, killing one and injuring 15.
Melbourne, Australia, January 20, 2017
A car plowed into a crowd at a pedestrian mall at lunchtime in Australia’s second-largest city, killing six people and injuring more than 30. It was found that the culprit was in a state of drug-induced psychosis.
Berlin, Germany, 19 December 2016
A rejected asylum seeker from Tunisia drove a hijacked truck into a Christmas market in the German capital, killing 13 people and injuring dozens. A few days later, the attacker was killed in a shootout in Italy. Responsibility for the attack was claimed by the “Islamic State” terrorist group.
Nice, France, 14 July 2016
A French resident of Tunisian origin drove a rented truck for about 2 kilometers on a seaside resort packed with tourists. The attack on a French Riviera resort on France’s Bastille Day holiday left 86 people dead – the deadliest attack of its kind.
(AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)
This article was first published on April 8, 2025 and updated on July 26, 2026.