The driver, a 33-year-old German man, was arrested at the scene and officials said his motivation was unclear.
On Monday evening Leipzig mayor Burkhard Jung confirmed two people had died, adding: "We still don't really know the motivation. We don't know anything about the perpetrator."
Leipzig fire service chief Axel Schuh also gave a death toll of two.
A 63-year old woman and a 77-year old man, both German citizens, died in the incident, police later confirmed.
Two people were also seriously injured and about 20 others were more lightly hurt, according to the fire service.
Police said the car ploughed into people on Grimmaische street, a major pedestrian zone in the old town lined with shops and historic buildings.
The driver stopped of his own accord, they added.
They arrested the driver, adding that "there is currently no further danger from him".
Police deployed in large numbers along with firefighters, emergency medical personnel and two helicopters.
Hosam Algaer, a Leipzig resident originally from Libya, told AFP he narrowly avoided being hit by the vehicle before running after it to try and help the injured until the car came to a stop.
"The car braked, it stopped," he said. "There was a woman on top and she ended up under the car, dead. She fell from the roof."
"Luckily, things were not worse than they were thanks to the screaming," he added. "People understood very quickly that an idiot was driving and they fled."
Michael Kretschmer -- the leader of Saxony state, where Leipzig is located -- said the incident "shakes me to the core".
"We will do everything in our power to investigate it quickly and fully," he said. "The rule of law will act with all due rigour."
While officials did not draw firm conclusions on his motive, several described the incident as an "Amokfahrt" -- a German term suggesting a rampage driven by some kind of madness.
This kind of act was "often associated with psychological instability," said Armin Schuster, the interior minister in the Saxony state government.
Police said late Monday said there was "no basis on current knowledge" to assume a political or religious motive on the part of the perpetrator.
Germany has faced a string of car-ramming attacks in recent years.
In December 2024, at least six people were killed and hundreds wounded in a car-ramming attack on the Christmas market in the eastern city of Magdeburg.
There have also been similar attacks in Munich and Berlin.
Comments