Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption A passer-by filmed the moment police shot the attacker

A man has died and two other people were hurt after a man drove into a pedestrian area in Heidelberg, Germany.

The attacker, said to have been armed with a knife, was shot, injured and arrested by police in a brief standoff after fleeing the scene on foot.

His motives are unclear, but there are no indications this was a terrorist attack, police say.

In December an Islamist attacker drove a lorry into a Berlin Christmas market, killing 12 people and injuring 49.

In Heidelberg the attacker, described by police as a 35-year-old German "without a migration background", drove what is thought to be a rental car into pedestrians in one of the city's central squares, injuring three people. One of them, a 73-year-old German man, later died in hospital.

Image copyright AP Image caption The motives for the attack are unclear, police say

The attacker then left the car but was tracked down, shot and seriously injured by police.

Police were unable to confirm local media reports that the attacker was mentally disturbed. He is thought to have acted alone.

The two injured people were a 32-year-old Austrian national and a 29-year-old Bosnian woman, police said. Their injuries are said to be minor and they have been discharged from hospital.</s>HEIDELBERG, Germany (Reuters) - A man died and two other people were injured after a 35-year-old German man drove into a crowd standing near a bakery in the southwestern town of Heidelberg on Saturday, but the authorities said there were no indications that it was a terrorist attack.

The 73-year-old man who died in hospital from his injuries was also German. The two other people injured, a 32-year-old Austrian man and a 29-year-old woman from Bosnia and Herzegovina, also received hospital treatment but were then discharged, police and prosecutors said in a statement.

“Based on investigations so far, there are no signs of a terrorist motive,” they said.

According to the statement, the suspect was seen getting out of the car with a knife and was later tracked down to an old swimming pool. He was taken to a hospital in Heidelberg having been shot by police while being arrested, leaving him seriously injured.

He has since been operated on but nothing further is known about the current state of his health, the police and prosecutors said.

Regional newspaper Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung said the suspect was not fit to be questioned.

Police spokesman Heiko Kranz said experts were gathering evidence such as DNA traces and fingerprints and examining the contents of the car, adding that the suspect would be interviewed if he was fit to be questioned.

Investigations by the public prosecutors’ office in Heidelberg and the town’s criminal police were continuing, police said.

The Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung newspaper said the suspect had stopped at a red traffic light and when it turned green put his foot down before hitting the group of people at high speed and smashing into a pillar.

The German authorities are on high alert after a failed Tunisian asylum-seeker drove a truck into a Christmas market in Berlin on Dec. 19, killing 12 people.</s>A 73-year-old German man died from his injuries after he was run over by a car in a central square in Heidelberg, a city in southwest Germany on Saturday evening. The vehicle rammed into a pedestrian zone, injuring the man fatally and slightly injuring two other people, a 32-year-old Austrian man and a 29-year-old woman from Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The driver fled the scene and was shot by police while trying to make his escape. He was seriously injured and brought to a nearby hospital. According to local newspaper "Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung," the man is currently not fit to be questioned.

Police secured the crime scene after a man hit several pedestrians with a car in front of a bakery in downtown Heidelberg

Police identified him as a 35-year old German.

"There are no indications of a terrorist background," police spokesman David Faulhaber told reporters. He said that he could not comment on possible motives for the attack.

On Twitter, the police responded to speculations that the driver was an immigrant, writing: "And again, for everyone: #Suspect: German with NO immigrant background!"

In an interview with broadcaster n-tv, police officer Norbert Schaetzle said that the man was believed to be carrying a knife. Schaetzle did not confirm whether the man was mentally disturbed, but said that that the perpetrator likely acted alone. The vehicle the man used was a rental car.

The man fled from his rental car after injuring three people

The "Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung" cited police as saying that the suspect had stopped at a red traffic light, but then accelerated after the light turned green without stopping, leading his car to smash into a group of people.

The site of the initial incident was a square usually buzzing with foot traffic, located near several public transportation stations and at the entrance to a popular shopping district in Heidelberg. The city is primarily known as a university town - about a quarter of its 150,000 residents are students. Heidelberg is home to Germany's oldest university and several reputable research institutions.

Attacks with vehicles are a sensitive topic to many Germans. The country has been on high alert since a 24-year old man with suspected ties to the so-called "Islamic State" (IS) drove a stolen truck into a crowded Christmas Market in downtown Berlin in December last year, killing 12 people. In July 2016, a similar attack in Nice, France, left 86 people dead.

Police tracked the man down to a location a few hundred meters from the scene of the crime

"A man drove into a group of people, three persons hurt, suspect captured and shot," local police wrote on Twitter, using the Hashtag #Bismarckplatz, the name of the square where the man drove the car.

Police also shared a photo of investigators at the crime scene with the caption "our colleagues are investigating."

rs/mb/jm/cl (AFP, dpa, Reuters)</s>HEIDELBERG, Germany — A man armed with a knife was shot and injured by police Saturday after he drove a car into a group of pedestrians in Heidelberg, Germany, local police said.

Three people were injured, one seriously, Mannheim police said.

After driving his car into the group, the suspect tried to flee the scene and was then shot by officers. The suspect was seriously injured and taken to the hospital.

No motive is known.</s>BERLIN -- A man drove a car into pedestrians in a central square in the German city of Heidelberg on Saturday, injuring three people, then fled and was shot after being tracked down by officers, police said. One of the victims later died.

The man, who was driving a rental car, hit three people outside a bakery on Saturday afternoon. A 73-year-old German man died of his injuries in the evening at a local hospital.

A 32-year-old Austrian man and a 29-year-old woman from Bosnia were lightly injured.

The driver, who is believed to have been carrying a knife, then got out of his car, police said. A short time later, he was intercepted by a police patrol and shot by an officer following a short standoff.

The suspect, a 35-year-old German whose identity wasn't released, was taken to a hospital and underwent an operation.

There was no immediate word on the man's possible motives, where he came from or his condition in the hospital.</s>A 73-year-old man died from his injury on Saturday after being attacked by a man who rammed his car into a group of pedestrians in the German city of Heidelberg. The identity of the attacker was not disclosed and the police said the man had no indication of terrorist background.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Xinhuanet.</s>A car stands in front of a store, guarded by police in Heidelberg, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017. A man apparently drove a car into pedestrians in a central square in the city of Heidelberg, injuring three people, then fled and was shot after being tracked down by officers, police said. (R. Priebe/PR-Video/dpa via AP)

BERLIN (AP) — A man drove a car into pedestrians in a central square in the German city of Heidelberg on Saturday, injuring three people, then fled and was shot after being tracked down by officers, police said. One of the victims later died.

The man, who was driving a rental car, hit three people outside a bakery on Saturday afternoon. A 73-year-old German man died of his injuries in the evening at a local hospital.

A 32-year-old Austrian man and a 29-year-old woman from Bosnia were lightly injured.

The driver, who is believed to have been carrying a knife, then got out of his car, police said. A short time later, he was intercepted by a police patrol and shot by an officer following a short standoff.

The suspect, a 35-year-old German whose identity wasn't released, was taken to a hospital and underwent an operation.

There was no immediate word on the man's possible motives, where he came from or his condition in the hospital.

Police and prosecutors said that there are no indications of any terrorist background and the man appears to have acted alone.</s>A 73-year-old man has died and two others injured after an attacker ploughed his car into pedestrians in a busy square in the German city of Heidelberg. A 35-year-old suspect, who was believed to be carrying a knife, was shot by police outside a bakery after a stand-off with officers.

The incident, which took place on Saturday 25 February, left the alleged attacker needing an operation in a nearby hospital.

Police say the suspect is a German national who they believe acted alone and have subsequently ruled out terrorism.

The two injured victims, a 32-year-old Austrian man and a 29-year-old Bosnian woman, remain in hospital after the incident in the south-west of the country.

Authorities say that an attacker drove a car into a crowd in a pedestrian area of the city's Bismarckplatz area, at around 4pm local time with the alleged attacker fleeing on foot after the crash.

He was then tracked by police to near an area close to an old swimming pool where he was shot and seriously injured.

Heidelberg 24 reported that police opened fire after he allegedly ignored orders to drop a knife.

"There are no indications of a terrorist background," police spokesman David Faulhaber said according to Deutsche Welle.

Unverified footage posted online purportedly shows officers shouting at the suspect before one shot was fired.

And one image circulated online purportedly shows a man carrying a knife before he was shot.

Local media reported the assailant was mentally disturbed, although this has not been confirmed by officials.

The Police Mannheim account took to Twitter to nullify rumours surrounding the alleged attacker's racial background, telling followers the man was: "German without a migration background!".

Mannheim police said in a statement: "Shortly before 4pm, a suspect drove into a group of people in Bismarckplatz in Heidelberg in front of a local bakery branch.

"This injured three people, one of them seriously. Afterwards, the suspect climbed out of the vehicle and moved away on foot, armed with a knife, towards Bergheimer Strasse.

"In front of the local indoor swimming pool, he was identified by a police patrol on the advice of passersby. During the arrest, the police officers used firearms."

Later in the evening, police added: "The person who was initially seriously injured died at 6pm in a Heidelberg clinic. He was a 73-year-old German national."

Germany has been on high alert since a 24-year old man with ties to Isis drove a stolen truck into a crowded Christmas Market in downtown Berlin in December last year.</s>Man in Heidelberg, Germany hits 3 with car and flees, is shot by police

A car stands in front of a store, guarded by police in Heidelberg, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017, after a man apparently drove a car into pedestrians in a central square of the city.

BERLIN — A man apparently drove a car into pedestrians in a central square in the German city of Heidelberg on Saturday, injuring three people, then fled and was shot after being tracked down by officers, police said.

One of the three people hit outside a bakery on Saturday afternoon was seriously injured, police spokeswoman Anne Baas said.

The man, who is believed to have been carrying a knife, then got out of his rental car, another police spokesman, Norbert Schaetzle, told n-tv television. He was intercepted by a police patrol and shot by an officer following a short standoff. He has been taken to a hospital.

There was no immediate word on the man's possible motives, where he came from or his condition in the hospital.

Schaetzle said he couldn't confirm local media reports that the man was mentally disturbed, but said a terrorist background is not suspected and the man appears to have acted alone.</s>A man apparently drove a car into pedestrians in a central square in the German city of Heidelberg on Saturday, injuring three people, then fled and was shot after being tracked down by officers, police said.

One of the three people hit outside a bakery on Saturday afternoon was seriously injured, police spokeswoman Anne Baas said.

The man, who is believed to have been carrying a knife, then got out of his rental car, another police spokesman, Norbert Schaetzle, told n-tv television.

He was intercepted by a police patrol and shot by an officer following a short standoff. He has been taken to a hospital.

There was no immediate word on the man's possible motives or where he came from.

Mr Schaetzle said he couldn't confirm local media reports that the man was mentally disturbed, but said a terrorist background is not suspected and the man appears to have acted alone.
German police shoot a man, who was trying to escape after apparently driving into a group of pedestrians in a central square in Heidelberg. A 73-year-old man was killed and two other people injured. Police do not believe terrorism is involved.