Dramatic scenes in a multi-storey car park at Cologne/Bonn Airport: A driver apparently deliberately hit people there on Friday. A police spokesman said he was driving towards cars and pedestrians. Fortunately, the people could have avoided the car. At least five people were slightly injured. The 57-year-old driver was arrested and taken to a hospital but was unharmed. According to the police, he is probably mentally ill.

According to previous investigations, the man had stolen a minibus from a rental car company on the arrivals level of the airport in the morning. It was initially unclear how he got the key, the car had recently been returned and should be cleaned.

Targeted pedestrians and cars

What then followed were dramatic scenes: the man drove through the lower parking level and apparently targeted pedestrians and cars, said a police spokesman. "He switched gears, drove forwards and backwards again and again." With the minibus he literally rammed an incoming car to the side. A pedestrian who tried to dodge was trapped between two vehicles and injured.

The man continued driving until the car finally got stuck. Police officers overpowered the 57-year-old. He fought back, so that two officers who wanted to fix him were slightly injured.

Police officers cordoned off the multi-storey car park with red and white warning tape, secured tracks and put yellow markings on the ground. Damaged cars testified to what happened: the dark minibus was dented all around. A car had been pushed against a bollard, and there was also a broken vehicle near the entrance that had knocked over a bollard due to the force of the impact.

The exact background of the crime is still unclear. Immediately beforehand, security forces at the airport had twice expelled the Ghanaian national from Bielefeld from the airport because of his behavior. The second time, the police were called in and sent him off. A spokesman could not say exactly what was going on.