Berlin - The son of immigrants from India who rammed his car into a crowd of football revellers in Berlin during last year's football World Cup was ordered Friday detained in a mental hospital. Ending the 34-year-old man's trial, judge Peter Faust said his actions amounted to attempted mass murder, but he could not be held responsible because he had been psychotic.
The crowd, which had gathered to watch World Cup play on a giant screen near the Brandenburg Gate, scattered as the small car careered towards them at 40 kilometres per hour.
Police, fearing a terrorist attack, trained guns on him before clapping on the handcuffs.
Earlier, the accused, who was born in Germany, failed an economics degree and was later a carer in a rest home, said he was taking his Indian-born mother for a drive on a lovely summer day and was surprised to see people in front of the car.
"I'm very sorry for what happened," he told the court. About 20 people were hurt in the collision and the panic.
The judge said he must go into psychiatric care because he was a danger to the public and banned him from driving a car for the next five years. "It was lucky nothing worse happened," said judge Faust.
