We're now seeing more images from the scene where the suspected attack happened today.

Image source, EPA

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

German media is now reporting that two people are believed to have died after the suspected attack in Mannheim.

Police have so far confirmed that one person was killed and several others were injured. They said in a statement that a car was driven at a group of people, but have not specified whether it was a deliberate attack.

We're primed to bring you fresh updates from emergency services as we get them.

Danny Aeberhard
Europe regional editor, BBC World Service

Police in Mannheim say a car drove into a group of people in the city centre.

They've arrested a suspect, but have not specified whether they're treating the incident as an accident or as an attack.

Police also haven't provided an exact figure for casualties or spoken of the severity of any injuries.

Mannheim has a carnival market on at the moment, with food stalls and fairground rides.

Germany is on high alert after a string of attacks, including deadly ones.

Last month, a person drove a car into a trade union rally in Munich and injured 30 people, while another man drove a vehicle into shoppers at a Christmas market in Magdeburg in December, killing six people.

Image source, Reuters

Mannheim police have issued a brief update on social media, urging people not to share videos of the incident.

They say incorrect information is also circulating online, and urge people to follow official updates only.

Police have not confirmed if today's incident was a deliberate attack - only that a car drove into a group of people, and that a suspect has been arrested.

But Germany does have a history of attacks in the past year:

• Last month, a mother and her two-year-old daughter were killed in a car ramming in Munich - a 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker was arrested
• In January, a two-year-old boy and a 41-year-old man were stabbed to death in a park in Aschaffenburg - a 28-year-old man from Afghanistan was arrested
• In December, six people were killed and at least 299 injured after a man drove a car into a Christmas market in Magdeburg -the suspect was a 50-year-old Saudi asylum seeker who had criticised Islam
• In August, three people were killed and another eight injured in a knife attack in Solingen -authorities said the Syrian suspect was a suspected member of the Islamic State group
• And a police officer was stabbed to death in Mannheim last May. The Afghan suspect's trial began last month

Image source, EPA

According to a statement to German news agency DPA, the Mannheim University Hospital has activated its "disaster response" plan.

Eight trauma teams have been made available, both for adults and children.

"Operations that could be postponed and had not yet begun were immediately removed from the operating schedule in order to create additional operating capacity," the hospital says.

As we've been reporting, a large police operation is under way in Mannheim city centre, after police say a car drove into a group of people in the Wasserturm/Plankenkopf area.

Eyewitnesses in Mannheim have been speaking to local media, with one saying "all hell broke loose" following the incident.

The man, who was sitting in a nearby restaurant, tells Welt that he saw people running away in panic after the car hit pedestrians.

He said police were everywhere, with helicopters circling overhead.

Image source, Reuters

Here's more from that police statement.

It says according to "current information", a car drove into a group of people in the city centre.

One person was killed and "several" injured, but there is no further information on the severity of the injuries.

The statement says a suspect was arrested during a search.

We've just had new information from Mannheim police, confirming one person has been killed, with several injured.

A suspect has been arrested.

We'll have more from their statement soon.

We're now getting some pictures in from Mannheim, which show a large police presence in the city as emergency services deal with that incident.

Local media report that a car hit pedestrians, but we don't know yet whether anyone has been injured.

Image source, AP

Image source, AP

The official X account for the city of Mannheim has just posted an update saying a large-scale police operation is under way in the city centre.

The post reiterates that people should stay away from the area, and follow the instructions of emergency services.

Police have not given an update following their initial alert shortly after 12:35 local time. We're working to bring you more information on the incident.

We don't yet have official information about the incident in Mannheim, other than the police warning we just brought you.

But local outlet Mannheimer Morgen quotes a witness as saying a car "raced" through the city and hit a crowd at a market in the city.

"You only see the injured and the dead, and you don't know what to do," one man at the market says. Police have not yet given details on whether there have been casualties.

German outlet Bild says the car was a black SUV. We'll bring you more details as soon as we get them.

A police operation is under way in the western German city of Mannheim after a car reportedly hit a crowd of pedestrians.

People have been urged to avoid the city centre, but police did not give further details.

We'll bring you more details as we get them.