BERLIN, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- A 2-year-old child and her mother, a 37-year-old woman, died from injuries sustained after a 24-year-old Afghan man deliberately drove into a crowd of trade union demonstrators on Thursday, the Bavarian state office of criminal investigation confirmed on Saturday evening.
Munich police reported earlier that at least 39 people were injured in the attack. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited the crash site on Saturday afternoon to pay his respects.
"Things like this should not happen," Scholz said as he laid a rose at the site of the attack and observed a moment of silence in memory of the victims. He then met with the rescue and emergency services staff, expressing his gratitude for their efforts in handling the incident.
Scholz is currently in Munich to attend the Munich Security Conference, a major gathering of global leaders that began on Friday. The conference venue is located approximately 1.6 kilometers from the crash site.
The attack has intensified the debate over deportation policies in Germany. On the day of the incident, Scholz pledged to accelerate the deportation of criminals.
"Anyone who is not a German citizen and commits crimes of this nature must expect to be removed from this country and deported," Scholz told public broadcaster ZDF. "This will also apply to the perpetrator this time."
The chancellor assured the public that authorities would take all necessary measures to prevent similar attacks in the future. "Each of these acts is intolerable," Scholz said, vowing that internal security must remain a top priority.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced shortly after the attack that deportations to Afghanistan would continue, despite challenges in implementing this policy due to the necessity of cooperation with the Taliban, who currently govern Afghanistan.
German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said on Friday that while officials are working intensively to clear the way for further deportations to Afghanistan, the timing of any such flights remains unclear.
