THIS is the tense standoff between police and a knife-wielding man whose car ploughed into three people in Germany.

A shot rings out as cops bring down the driver after chasing him down the street in Heidelberg between Stuttgart and Frankfurt.

10 A rental car with a Hamburg licence plate ploughed into three pedestrians in Heidelberg Credit: AP:Associated Press

10 Photographs from the scene show the rental car that smashed into people outside a bakery Credit: DPA

10 Cops said initially that they did not believe terror was a motive Credit: DPA

His rental car which had license plates registered to Hamburg smashed into crowds at around 4pm local time, killing a 73-year-old man.

Police said two other people, a 32-year-old Austrian man and a 29-year-old woman from Bosnia and Herzegovina, received hospital treatment but were later discharged.

The alleged driver, a 35-year-old German national, was taken to hospital with a serious gunshot wound.

His motive remains unclear, but local media speculated that he may have been mentally disturbed.

Police were quick to say they did not believe it was a terror attack.

"There are no indications of a terrorist background," spokesman Heidelberg David Faulhaber said.

10 The car sped into people near a bakery in Bismarkplatz square, Heidelberg

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10 Armed police have sealed off the area in the centre of Heidelberg Credit: DPA

10 The alleged attack took place at a busy square in the centre of the city Credit: DPA

Other video posted online shows the chaotic aftermath of the attack on Saturday afternoon.

Local media say the driver revved his engine at a red light before accelerating into a crowded spot near a bakery in Bismarckplatz.

The car went on to smash into a pillar.

German authorities are on high alert after a failed Tunisian asylum-seeker drove a truck into a Christmas market in Berlin on December 19, killing 12 people.

10 Investigators scour the scene in Heidelberg for clues Credit: Getty Images

10 Police guard the car suspected of being deliberately driven into a crowd of pedestrians Credit: Getty Images

10 Police were quick to say they don't believe terror was a motive Credit: Getty Images

10 The car sped into a pillar before the driver, wielding a knife, was shot Credit: Getty Images

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