(Reuters) – A new chapter of mass attacks began in Nice, France, in 2016 when a man drove a heavy truck into crowds of Bastille Day revelers. Since then, vehicular attacks have become increasingly common, although only some have been considered acts of terrorism. The New Year's Day attack in New Orleans, ringing in 2025, was the most recent attack.
The driver of his pickup truck plowed into a crowd celebrating New Year's in New Orleans' French Quarter and opened fire, killing 10 people and wounding more than 35 others, in an early morning attack that the FBI said was a possible act of terrorism.
Attacks on vehicles are becoming increasingly common around the world. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency describes vehicular attacks as a “major threat in the United States” and provides a “security guide to preventing and mitigating vehicular accidents.”
Below is a reverse chronological list of some notable incidents in which a vehicle was used to plow into crowds, injuring and killing bystanders.
Magdeburg, Germany
Last month in Germany, a 50-year-old man was charged with multiple counts of murder and attempted murder after police said he plowed his car into crowds at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, killing five people and wounding dozens.
The suspect, who was in custody, is a psychiatrist from Saudi Arabia with a history of anti-Islamic rhetoric who has lived in Germany for nearly two decades.
Zhuhai, China
In November, a driver rammed his car into a crowd of people at a sports center in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai, killing 35 people and seriously wounding 43 others in one of the deadliest attacks in modern Chinese history.
The police said that the 62-year-old driver, surnamed Fan, was arrested and taken to hospital due to wounds believed to have been inflicted by a knife on his neck and other parts of his body. Police said Phan was upset about the division of assets in his divorce settlement.
Waukesha, Wisconsin
A Wisconsin man was convicted in 2022 of killing six people and injuring dozens when he drove his SUV into a Christmas parade near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in November 2021. Darrell Brooks was accused of intentionally driving his SUV through police barricades and into crowds. People participate in the annual parade in Waukesha, about 15 miles (25 km) west of downtown Milwaukee.
London, Ontario
A 22-year-old white Canadian man, who admitted to being a white nationalist, ran over and killed four members of a Muslim family with his pickup truck in June 2021 in London, Ontario, a Canadian city about 120 miles (190 km) from Toronto. In 2023, Nathaniel Feltman was convicted of first-degree murder. The judge in the case described the incident as a terrorist act.
toronto
In 2018, a man drove a rented truck into dozens of people in downtown Toronto, killing 11 and injuring 15 others.
Alek Minassian was convicted in 2021 of murdering 10 people and attempting to murder 16. One of the 16 people later died from injuries sustained in the attack, and the judge said she considered the woman the 11th murder victim.
New York
In October 2017, a 34-year-old Uzbek national plowed a rented truck into a bike path in Manhattan, killing eight people and injuring 11 others, including a Belgian woman who lost her legs. Sayfullo Saipov, who moved to the United States in 2010, was convicted in 2023 of murder for the purpose of joining ISIS, which the United States designates as a terrorist organization.
Barcelona
In August 2017, a 22-year-old man plowed his car into crowds in Barcelona on Las Ramblas, a popular tourist spot, killing 13 people. The man, Younis Abu Yaqoub, fled the scene on foot before stabbing a man to death and getting into his car to flee. Abu Yaqoub was shot dead by police a few days later near Barcelona.
New York
In May 2017, a US Navy veteran rammed his car into pedestrians in Manhattan's crowded Times Square, killing one woman and injuring 22 people. A jury in 2022 accepted Richard Rojas' insanity defense.
London
In March 2017, a car rushed across Westminster Bridge, plowing into pedestrians just outside Parliament, killing four people and injuring dozens. The driver, 52-year-old Khaled Masoud, a British-born convert to Islam, stabbed a police officer to death before he was shot dead.
Berlin
In December 2016, Anis Amri, a failed Tunisian asylum seeker with Islamist ties, hijacked a truck, killed its driver, and then rammed it into a crowded Christmas market in Berlin, killing 11 more people and wounding dozens. Four days later, he was killed in a shootout with police in Italy.
Nice, France
In 2016, a gunman drove a heavy truck into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day in the French coastal city of Nice, killing 86 people and wounding dozens in an attack for which ISIS claimed responsibility. The attacker was identified as a Frenchman of Tunisian origin.
