An Afghan bodybuilder who injured dozens of people by ramming his car in a crowd in Germany is depicted for the first time.
Farhad N., 24, injured at least 30 people, including a two-year-old child, when he plowed his mini-Cooper through a demonstration in Munich on Thursday. The toddler would be in a critical condition.
The Afghan asylum seeker, born in Kabul in 2001, was arrested on the spot after the police had fired gunshots on his vehicle.
Farhad N. was reportedly known to the local police for drugs and theft and is supposed to have accelerated his vehicle in the crowd of 1,000 strikers about 30 km / h, according to the Swiss publication Blick.
Terrorism experts examine the suspect and there are “indications for an extremist background,” says German Tabloid Bild.
Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said that the asylum application from Farhad N. was rejected in 2016 when he arrived in Germany.
The Afghan, however, reportedly received a so-called tolerance permit from the German federal office for migration and refugees, which meant that his deportation was suspended until 2023, when he received a home and work permit until April 2025.
It is understanding that Farhad N. worked for a security service and participated in Bodybuilding competitions in his spare time. He regularly shared photos of his fitness trip with his more than 100,000 followers about Instagram and Tiktok.
Farhad N., 24, injured at least 30 people, including a two-year-old child, when he plowed his mini-Cooper through a demonstration in Munich on Thursday. The toddler is said to be in a critical condition (Farhad N. is depicted with a mini that seems to be the same car used in the attack)
It is understanding that Farhad N. worked for a security service and participated in Bodybuilding competitions in his spare time. He regularly shared photos of his fitness trip with his more than 100,000 followers about Instagram and Tiktok
Waste was littered by road after the incident
After the tragic incident, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said: 'This perpetrator cannot hope for a clementia. He must be punished and he has to leave the country. '
He added: “If this was an attack, we must take consistent action against possible perpetrators who use all legal means at our disposal.”
According to the German newspaper Spiegel, Farhad would have uploaded Islamist messages online before crime.
The Munich police went to social media on Thursday morning to reassure that the driver was protected on site and 'is currently not a further danger'.
A police spokesperson explained that a police car was driving at the back of the Verdi Trade Union meeting before 'a vehicle was approaching and came behind the police vehicle.
It comes as Bavarian governor Markus Seder said that “it is suspected that it is an attack.”
“We have to change something – and quickly,” Seder added, referring to the migration crisis of Germany that he and other politicians insist to sharpen.
The police are now working on confirming whether the driver had intentionally acted while driving in the rally.
Police work at a car that rode in a crowd in Munich, Germany, February 13, 2025, which injured several people
A view of the damaged car after a car in a crowd in the South German city of Munich was plowed
“Police investigations must now clarify whether he deliberately entered the crowd or the accelerator and brake,” said Bild.
Images of the scene conquered the moment the driver was arrested, while the police swarmed the vehicle and put him on the floor.
The incident comes as leaders of world defense, including the American vice-president JD Vance and the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zensky gather in the Bavarian City for an important safety conference.
Horror videos that circulate online also saw several injured victims who were on the street, were treated for injuries after the white car crashed through the Dachauer Straße area on Thursday morning.
Eyewitnesses told the German newspaper Bild that two men were in the mini and shots were fired before the driver was held. There is currently a major police operation in the area, the local police have stated on X ..
On social media, a witness, a German journalist, said that the incident cried and shook people on the ground.
“A person was on the street and a young man was taken by the police,” said Sandra Demmelhuber.
'People were crying and shaking on the ground. Details still unclear, “the reporter added.
In images that are circulating online police, you can see to assess the damage
Members of the emergency services work on the scene where a car rode a crowd in the South German city of Munich on 13 February 2025.
A demonstrator told Bayerischer Rundfunk: 'I was in the demonstration and saw that a man was lying under the car. Then I tried to open the door, but it was locked '.
“Eventually the police came and shot on the car window, so he withdrew and took care of the wounded.”
Mayor Dieter Reiter of Munich said to Bild: 'The police chief just let me know that a vehicle entered a group of people and unfortunately many people were injured, including children. I am deeply shocked. My thoughts are with the injured. '
In images that circulate online, the Mini Cooper can be seen with a broken windshield and ground bonnet while the police are gathering to assess the damage.
On Thursday, various city employees stopped their work to prove in a protest that demanded an increase of eight percent, higher bonuses and three extra days free.
The Verdi Union had called for the demonstration.
The Munich Verdi director Claudia Weber, 58, who waited for the demonstration in Königspplatz, said Bild: 'It's all so incredible. We are completely shocked and are incredibly afraid of our colleagues who were part of the demonstration.
'We heard that the car was deliberately drove directly into the demonstration. Hopefully there are no dead. '
Images conquered when the driver, Farhad N., (right) was arrested by the police after he had been driven by the crowd
Bavarian State Prime Minister Markus Sederer and Minister of the Interior Joachim Herrmann arrive at the scene
In an update on social media, the Munich police encouraged the locals to avoid the area so that investigations can continue smoothly.
'There will be traffic disturbances around the scene of the incident. Avoid the area so that the emergency services can work unhindered, “said it in a message to X/Twitter.
Cops have also stated that they have set up a witness collection point in the Löwenbräukeller on Stiglmaierplatz.
The Smash ends up on the same day as an Afghan man with suspected Islamic sympathies in Germany on accusation of murder and attempted murder after a stabbing attack aimed at a political rally in the western city of Mannheim.
The process takes place at a time of increased debate in Germany on asylum rules and safety before a national election on 23 February.
The center -right and extreme right -wing have sworn heavy action on migrant crime, after various violent attacks in recent months.
The Mini Cooper was driven by a crowd of 1,000 protesters
The front of the car was completely destroyed after the incident
Verdi Union flags are depicted near the site where a car drove in a crowd in Munich
The suspect, identified by prosecutors as Sulaiman A., is accused of stabbing and seriously injured of six people, including a 29-year-old police officer who died of his injuries, during the attack on an anti-Islam demonstration at the end of May 2024 .
He covered his face with a folder during his appearance at the higher regional court in Stuttgart, the state capital of Baden-Wuerttemberg, where Mannheim is located.
The suspect was transferred to guardianship on June 18 after leaving the Intensive Care for injuries he sustained in the attack.
And only a few weeks ago a car rode a group of people on a Christmas market in the East German city of Magdeburg, leaving at least two dead and almost 70 injured.
The driver of the car, reported as a dark BMW, was arrested after the crash.
Bild reported that the car was 'at least 400 m (1,300 ft) about the Christmas market', according to a police spokesperson.
