A German court on Thursday sentenced a 25-year-old Afghan man to life in prison for a car-ramming attack in Munich that killed a mother and her young child and injured dozens more. The suspect, identified only as Farhad N. under German privacy laws, was convicted of two counts of murder and 23 of attempted murder.
The court also found that he bears “particularly serious” guilt, a designation that typically means he will not be eligible for early release after 15 years, according to the German news agency dpa. Authorities stated the defendant’s motive was to arbitrarily attack and kill people in Germany as a response to the situation in Islamic countries and to prove himself a "good Muslim."
The attack occurred on Feb. 13, 2025, during a demonstration by a labor union. The suspect was apprehended at the scene. The incident was among several attacks involving immigrants in the months leading up to Germany's national election, which took place 10 days after the Munich event and brought migration to the forefront of the political campaign.
In addition to the two fatalities, a two-year-old girl and her 37-year-old mother, 44 other individuals sustained life-threatening or serious injuries from the assault.