Recent History of Vehicle Attacks
Vehicle attacks have become a recurring and devastating phenomenon worldwide, resulting in significant loss of life and widespread destruction. These incidents often share a common thread – they are relatively inexpensive and simple to carry out, making them an attractive option for those seeking to inflict harm.
Early Incidents
In 2014, a 25-year-old Canadian man, who had converted to Islam, deliberately ran over two soldiers in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, near Montreal, Canada. The attack resulted in the death of one soldier, and the perpetrator was killed in a subsequent shootout with security forces.
Two years later, on July 14, 2016, a similar attack occurred in Nice, France, where a suicidal driver plowed into a crowd celebrating France’s National Day, killing 86 people, including ten children, and injuring hundreds. The Islamic State later claimed responsibility for the attack.
European Attacks Continue
In December 2016, a truck attack at a Christmas market in Berlin resulted in the deaths of 12 people. The following year, on March 22, 2017, a terrorist attack outside the British Parliament in London claimed the lives of five people, including a Spanish woman and a police officer. The perpetrator, who was killed by police, had used an SUV to run over pedestrians on Westminster Bridge before stabbing the officer.
On April 7, 2017, an Uzbek resident of Sweden drove a truck into a crowd on a pedestrian street in central Stockholm, killing five people. Later that year, on June 3, a vehicle attack on London Bridge and its surroundings resulted in the deaths of eight people, including a Spaniard, and injured at least twenty others.
Further Incidents
On June 9, 2017, a van plowed into Muslim worshipers near the Finsbury Park mosque in north London, leaving one dead and ten injured. A few months later, on August 9, 2017, a vehicle ran over a patrol of the anti-terrorist device in Levallois Perret, France, causing six injuries. The driver was neutralized by police.
On August 17, 2017, a van attacked pedestrians on Las Ramblas in Barcelona, Spain, resulting in 14 deaths and almost a hundred injuries. Later that year, on October 31, 2017, an Uzbek immigrant claiming to act on behalf of the Islamic State ran over dozens of people in Manhattan, New York, causing eight deaths.
Recent Attacks
On November 22, 2021, at least six people died, and another 40 were injured after a vehicle ran over them during a parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin. The most recent attack occurred on December 20, 2022, in Magdeburg, Germany, where a man of Saudi origin ran over hundreds of people at a Christmas market, resulting in at least five deaths and hundreds of injuries.