(Reuters) – A new chapter in mass attacks began in Nice, France, in 2016, when a man drove a heavy truck into crowds of Bastille Day celebrants. Since then vehicle attacks have become increasingly common, though only some have been declared acts of terrorism. The New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans, as revelers ushered in 2025, was the latest attack.
A driver crashed his pickup truck into a crowd celebrating New Year’s Day in New Orleans’ French Quarter and opened fire, killing 10 people and injuring more than 35, in an early morning attack the FBI said was a potential act of terrorism.
Vehicle attacks have become increasingly common around the world. The U.S. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency calls vehicle attacks “a significant threat in the United States” and provides a “Vehicle Incident Prevention and Mitigation Security Guide.”
Below is a list in reverse chronological order of some high-profile incidents in which a vehicle was used to ram into crowds, harming 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 a car through crowds at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, killing five people and injuring scores.
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 almost two decades.
ZHUHAI, China
A driver in November rammed his car into a crowd at a sports center in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai, killing 35 people and severely injuring 43 in one of the deadliest attacks in contemporary Chinese history.
Police said the 62-year-old driver, with the surname Fan, had been captured and was hospitalized for wounds believed to have been self-inflicted with a knife to the neck and other parts of his body. Fan had been upset about the split of assets in his divorce settlement, police said.
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 deliberately driving his sport utility vehicle through police barricades and plowing into crowds of people participating in the annual parade in Waukesha, about 15 miles (25 km) west of downtown Milwaukee.
LONDON, Ontario
A 22-year-old self-confessed Canadian white nationalist ran over and killed four members of a Muslim family with his pick-up truck in June 2021 in London, Ontario, a Canadian city about 120 miles (190 km) from Toronto. In 2023 Nathaniel Veltman was convicted of first-degree murder. The judge in the case called it an act of terrorism.
