Germany Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged a tough response in the wake of a suspected vehicle attack in Munich on Thursday morning, in which a man drove his car into a trade union rally.
The driver has been identified by Munich authorities as a 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker.
Scholz also expressed his deep sorrow, expressed his thoughts for those injured and their families and spoke of a “terrible attack.”
“This perpetrator cannot count on any leniency. He must be punished and he must leave the country,” Scholz said just hours after the attack while at a political campaign event in the Bavarian city of Fürth.
“It must be very clear that the judiciary will take tough action against this perpetrator with all the means at its disposal,” said Scholz. “Anyone who commits crimes in Germany will not only be severely punished and sent to prison, but must also expect that they will not be able to continue their stay in Germany.”
Scholz stressed that must also be true for people from countries to which deportations are difficult, such as Afghanistan.
