Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK

A spring day in Mannheim was shattered today when, just after noon, a car ploughed at speed into a pedestrianised area of the southwest German city.

There was initially a sense of déjà vu: was this another extremist-linked attack in Germany where a vehicle was used as a weapon?

However, police say their early investigations have ruled out a political motive and point towards the German suspect suffering from serious mental ill health.

We're pausing our live coverage now - we'll leave you with the main facts we've learned today:

• Two people, a woman aged 83 and a 54-year-old man, were killed and ten others were injured in the incident - five of them seriously

• The suspect is a 40-year-old landscape gardener with a minor criminal record, who lives in the neighbouring city of Ludwigshafen, across the Rhine river

• After driving into pedestrians, prosecutors says the suspect shot himself in the mouth but survived, and he is in a stable condition in hospital
• A handwritten note containing writing, equations and doodles was seen stuck to the dashboard of the car used in the attack
• Police believe it was a deliberate action and are investigating the two deaths as murder

Image source, Getty Images

Germany's interior minister Nancy Faeser describes today's incident as a "terrible act...a horror in broad daylight".

"In the most beautiful weather during the lunch break, when many people are outside, in the middle of a pedestrian zone," she tells reporters.

"This is simply an unimaginably terrible act that happened here," she says, adding that investigating authorities will do "everything they can" to establish the circumstances surrounding the crime.

Image source, EVN

Andreas Stenger, from the state's criminal police office, tells a press conference more about those who died earlier.

He says an 83-year-old woman and a 54-year-old man were killed.

We already know that 10 people were injured, five of them seriously - but Stenger says earlier reports about children being among those in hospital is incorrect.

Earlier, we reported a statement from local health services which said a child was being treated.

Image source, Reuters

Mannheim residents have been reacting to the deadly incident earlier today, with one saying he is "afraid of walking in the street".

"What is currently happening in Germany is so bad," says Adem, adding that someone attacked a police officer in the same square last year.

Recounting the moment of the incident, Enes says he heard a very loud noise "that was a bit unusual".

"That was a sound that you don't hear every day. I immediately went over to the window to look...because I knew there was something there that was extraordinary," he says.

"And then I saw one person, injured and already dead on the ground. I went downstairs to see if I could help in any way."

Image source, AFP

More details are emerging from the police news conference in Mannheim.

The German prosecutor, Romeo Schuessler, reveals that the suspect shot himself in the mouth after the attack.

However, he survived the self-inflicted wound and is in a "stable" condition in hospital.

Police have not disclosed the name of the 40-year-old German man who was arrested at the scene.

As we've just been reporting, investigators do not believe the incident is linked to extremism and say the suspect is mentally ill.

We're hearing more now about the suspect in Mannheim at a press conference held at the city's police headquarters.

German prosecutor Romeo Schuessler says the suspect in the car attack appears to have been ''psychologically unwell" and showing "concrete indications of mental illness".

The prosecutor also says the belief is that the suspect drove into the crowd on purpose.

Earlier, police said their early investigation had not revealed any indication of an extremist or political motive.

CCTV footage shows black car speeding along shopping streetpublished at 19:10 Greenwich Mean Time 3 March

19:10 GMT 3 March

By Emma Pengelly

CCTV footage has emerged showing a black hatchback car speeding along Planken shopping street in Mannheim, heading west.

The camera, overlooking a restaurant, captures pedestrians stopping in their tracks as the vehicle drives past.

We have also seen images of a heavily damaged black Ford Fiesta cordoned off and being inspected by forensics near Planken. The images show the car missing a hub cap on its front left wheel. In the CCTV footage, the front left hub cap also appears to be missing.

Due to earlier footage we have verified showing a body on the ground further east on Planken, it is likely the CCTV video was filmed after the attacker had already hit at least one person.

The timestamp on the CCTV footage (12:15 local time) also matches the time of the incident given by German police.

Image source, Getty Images

Germany's state interior minister Thomas Strobl says the man who drove a car into a crowd in Mannheim used the vehicle "as a weapon".

Speaking to reporters alongside national interior minister Nancy Faeser just now, Stroble says: "This act is one of several crimes in the recent past in which a car was misused as a weapon."

According to Reuters news agency, Strobl also reiterated that there is no indication the suspect had an "extremist or religious background".

"The motivation may rather be rooted in the perpetrator's own personal circumstances. However, this is the subject of ongoing investigations," Reuters reports Strobl as saying.

Mannheim's mayor has described the incident as "abhorrent and "inhumane" in a statement posted on the city government's website.

"Our thoughts are with the dead and injured, their families and friends," Mayor Christian Specht says.

Carnival events planned for tomorrow in the nearby suburbs of Feudenheim, Neckarau and Sandhofen have been cancelled.

A market has been closed and a street carnival in the city centre will not take place, according to the statement.

As a reminder, outdoor carnivals linked to Easter celebrations are held across Germany at this time of year.

Police say extra officers have been drafted in after the deadly incident in Mannheim earlier.

Pictures from a short while ago show large numbers of emergency service personnel on the city's streets, including armed officers.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Olaf Scholz, Germany's outgoing chancellor, has just commented on the Mannheim incident.

"We mourn with the relatives of the victims of a senseless act of violence and fear for those injured," he says in a social media post.

The chancellor thanks the emergency services and wishes "strength" for eyewitnesses in Mannheim to "process what they have experienced".

As a reminder, the police are yet to confirm the motivation behind today's incident but they have said they do not believe it is political.

More now from the latest police update on the situation in Mannheim.

Five people were seriously injured and another five suffered minor injuries, according to investigators.

The police statement revises down estimates that appeared in German media earlier suggesting the number of injured may have been as high as 25.

As we've been reporting, two people were killed after a car ploughed into pedestrians.

We're expecting to learn more about the incident at a press conference later this evening.

Local police have just given an update on the Mannheim investigation, saying they do not believe there is a "political background" at this stage.

We know a 40-year-old German man from a neighbouring state was arrested at the scene.

We'll bring you more from the latest update soon.

We can bring you more comments now from Thomas Strobl, the interior minister for Baden-Württemberg.

Strobl confirms earlier reports that two people have died and several others were seriously injured after a car drove into a group of people in Mannheim.

He adds that the 40-year-old German suspect is from Rhineland-Palatinate, a German state which Mannheim borders.

Strobl also says there is no evidence the incident is related to the carnival event in the area.

The minister emphasises that the investigation is still in its early stages and extra police have been deployed in the aftermath.

As we've been reporting, police do not believe there is another suspect or ongoing threat to the public.

The head of Baden-Württemberg, the German state where the incident occurred, will give a press statement at 19:00 local time (18:00 GMT).

The state's X account says Minister-President Winfried Kretschmann is travelling to Mannheim, where he will speak to the press.

Stay with us as we bring you the key lines from the statement.

A hospital in Mannheim has released a statement saying two adults and a child are receiving "acute medical care" as its facility.

The Mannheim University Hospital has had to set up an emergency facility in the cafeteria to deal with the number of injured people, the statement adds.

The death toll in Mannheim has now risen to two, AFP news agency reports citing a local politician.

Thomas Strobl, the interior minister for Baden-Wuerttember - the state where the city is located - also tells AFP the suspect is a 40-year-old German.

As we've been reporting, several German media outlets have already reported the death toll as two. We've contacted local authorities for further information.

There have been reports in Germany that as many as 25 people were injured in the incident, though this has not been confirmed by police.

Footage shows aftermath of Mannheim incidentpublished at 15:55 Greenwich Mean Time 3 March

15:55 GMT 3 March

By Emma Pengelly and Thomas Copeland

BBC Verify has been analysing footage appearing on Snapchat, Instagram and X showing scores of emergency vehicles near Friedrichsplatz square.

We have also been looking at video showing what looks to be police running towards a canal, Verbindungskanal, about 1.5km (0.9 miles) west of the plaza. We don’t see a suspect in the footage.

These two locations are connected by a shopping street called Planken. We have geolocated one video that shows people running and screaming, heading west along Planken, and another video in which a body lying on the ground is being shielded from view by pedestrians holding up their jackets.

By matching the buildings, shops and roads in the footage we can confirm where the videos were filmed. We have also determined the videos are new as they were first shared online today.

We've just had an update come through from the Mannheim police, who are now confirming that there is only one suspect involved in their investigation.

That individual, as we reported earlier, has already been arrested.

There is no evidence of a second person being involved, the Mannheim police say in a statement.

They do not provide an update on whether the incident was deliberate or an accident, but the statement adds that there is no danger to the public.

Image source, Reuter

• Police have detained a man who drove a car into a crowd in Mannheim's city centre
• It happened at just after 12:00 local time (11:00 GMT) at the western German city's Paradeplatz market square
• Police have confirmed one death. Local media are reporting that a second person has died - emergency services have yet to comment on that report
• There are "several" injured but police have not specified a number
• Nothing is known yet about the suspect or his motivations. He is in hospital, German media is reporting
• The city had hosted a large parade on Sunday as part of the ongoing carnival season in Germany. Another traditional street festival had been planned for Tuesday, local media report