Bottrop and Essen car attack
| Bottrop and Essen car attack | |
|---|---|
Bottrop Essen Bottrop and Essen car attack (North Rhine-Westphalia) | |
| Location | Bottrop and Essen, Germany |
| Date | 31 December 2018 – 1 January 2019 11:45 p.m. – 12:17 p.m. (CET) |
| Target | People of foreign heritage |
Attack type | Vehicular attack |
| Weapons | Silver Mercedes-Benz car |
| Deaths | 0 |
| Injured | 14 |
| Assailants | Andreas N. |
| Motive | acute episode of paranoid schizophrenia |
On the night of 31 December 2018 to 1 January 2019, a series of vehicle-ramming attacks took place in the cities of Bottrop and Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. A 50-year-old man intentionally drove his car into crowds of pedestrians in four locations, injuring fourteen people.
Most of the injured victims had a migration background and the perpetrator told police he had deliberately targeted people he perceived as "refugees". Initial investigations suspected a terrorist background for the attacks.
During court proceedings for attempted murder, it was concluded that the attack did not have xenophobic or terrorist motives due to the perpetrator's paranoid schizophrenia. After a temporary suspension following the death of the presiding judge in July 2019, the perpetrator was found not guilty by reason of mental disease based on a psychiatric evaluation in December 2019 and involuntarily committed to a closed psychiatric facility.