Three people were injured in the German city of Heidelberg when an unidentified man drove a car into a pedestrian area, media reports said.

"A man drove into pedestrians, three injured, the suspect arrested and wounded," police said on Twitter on Saturday.

The suspect was reportedly armed with a knife and fled the scene after the attack, but was was later shot and injured by police in a brief standoff, Xinhua news agency reported.

The motives for the attack remained unknown. Police did not indicate whether the attack was intentional or by accident.

On December 19, 2016, an attacker identified as Anis Amri, drove a truck into a Christmas market near the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin, leaving 12 killed and more than 50 others injured. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.