Into the Crowd: The Evolution of Vehicular Attacks and Prevention Efforts
In recent months, there have been a series of vehicular attacks in Germany, the United States, and Israel targeting civilians during celebrations and public gatherings. The relative ease of launching a vehicle attack and the very large number of soft targets available means it is a tactic that is very difficult to defend against.
ploughs through Germany pedestrian zone,” BBC, December 1, 2020.
[38] Kevin Rawlinson, “Darren Osborne jailed for life for Finsbury Park terrorist attack,” Guardian, February 2, 2018.
[39] Kate Dubinski, “Judge rules killer of London, Ont., Muslim family committed terrorism, calling it a textbook example,” CBC, February 22, 2024.
[40] Paul Hess and Sneha Mandhan, “Ramming Attacks, Pedestrians, and the Securitization of Streets and Urban Public Space: A Case Study of New York City,” Urban Design Institute 28:1 (2022).
[41] Gerald Dlubala, “Concrete Bollards Are Crucial To Separating Cars From Pedestrians and Buildings,” Park and Facilities Catalog, May 17, 2017.
[42] Mark Jenner, “Circulation and Disorder: London Streets and Hackney Coaches, 1640-1740” in Tim Hitchcock and Robert Shoemaker eds., The Streets of London: From the Great Fire to the Great Stink (London: Rivers Oran Press, 2008), p. 43.
[43] Hess and Mandhan.
[44] Ibid.
[45] “Incremental Protection for Existing Commercial Buildings from Terrorist Attack: Providing Protection to People and Buildings,” Risk Management Series, FEMA 459, April 2008.
[46] Nicole Gelinas, “Vehicular Terrorism in the Age of Vision Zero,” Bloomberg, October 17, 2018; “Incremental Protection for Existing Commercial Buildings from Terrorist Attack;” Hess and Mandhan.
[47] Daniel C. Goodrich and Frances L. Edwards, “Transportation, Terrorism and Crime: Deterrence, Disruption and Resilience,” Mineta Transportation Institute, Project 1896, January 2020.
[48] Anastassia Gliadkovskaya, “Watch: This destructive barrier was created to stop lorry attacks,” Euronews, June 26, 2018.
[49] Jeff Anderson, “Anti-Terrorist Barriers Help Protect Facilities,” Library AutomationDirect.com, June 1, 2007.
[50] “Vehicle Incident Prevention and Mitigation Security Guide,” Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, April 2024.
[51] Rodde, p. 213.
[52] “U.S. Social Security orders 174,000 hollow-point bullets,” CBC, September 4, 2012.
[53] Chris Butler, “Implications of shooting through a windshield,” Blue Line, June 25, 2022.
[54] Yannick Veilleux-Lepage and Marc-André Argentino, “2025 New Orleans Truck Attack: The Role of Electric Vehicles and Peer-to-Peer Platforms,”ICCT, January 2025.
[55] “Canadian soldier killed by convert to Islam in hit and run.”
[56] Rodde, Le Jihad en France 2012-2022.
[57] Ibid.
[58] Mitch Smith, Richard Pérez-Peña, and Adam Goldman, “Suspect Is Killed in Attack at Ohio State University That Injured 11,” New York Times, November 28, 2016.
[59] “Berlin Christmas market attack,” Deutsche Welle, December 17, 2021.
[60] “London attack: Khalid Masood identified as killer,” BBC, March 23, 2017.
[61] “Stockholm truck attack.”
[62] Rodde, Le Jihad en France 2012-2022.
[63] “Darren Osborne guilty of Finsbury Park mosque murder,” BBC, February 1, 2018.
[64] Rodde, Le Jihad en France 2012-2022.
[65] “A woman recalls the deadly car attack at the Charlottesville rally organizers’ trial,” NPR, November 8, 2021.
[66] “Barcelona attack.”
[67] Benjamin Mueller, William K. Rashbaum, and Al Baker, “Terror Attack Kills 8 and Injures 11 in Manhattan,” New York Times, October 31, 2017.
[68] “Westminster car crash driver Salih Khater jailed for life,” BBC, October 14, 2019.
[69] Rodde, Le Jihad en France 2012-2022.
[70] Dubinski.
[71] Reels and Breen.
[72] Therrien.
© 2025 Alexandre Rodde, Justin Olmstead
Alexandre Rodde is a Visiting Fellow at the Protective Security Lab at Coventry University. He is the author of Le Jihad en France: 2012-2022 (not yet available in English). Justin Quinn Olmstead, Ph.D., is a historian for Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His most recent book is From Nuclear Weapons to Global Security: 75 Years of Research and Development at Sandia National Laboratories. The article, originally published in the March 2025 issue of CTC Sentinel, is published here courtesy of the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point.
