Syrians, Afghans wounded in Germany car rammings

Syrian and Afghan nationals were among four people seriously wounded in car rammings in northwest Germany overnight that were potentially racially motivated, police said on Tuesday. 

Authorities are investigating a xenophobic motive for the attacks after a 50-year-old man was arrested in the region of Ruhr, where he attempted a third attack, and made xenophopic remarks while being arrested.

"Investigating authorities are currently working on the assumption that this was a targeted attack, possibly motivated by the anti-foreigner views of the driver," the police said in a statement.

According to the statement, a pedestrian escaped the first attempted ramming in the city of Bottrop shortly after midnight but the driver then went to the city's centre where he ran over four people. 

From there, he went to the nearby city of Essen where he was arrested trying to drive into a bus stop. 

"Investigators have preliminary information about a mental illness of the driver," the police added in the statement.