A woman was seriously injured when she was dragged through the streets of a northern German town behind a car with a cord tied around her neck. Her ex-partner later turned himself in to authorities, prosecutors said Monday.

Police in Hameln said they were treating Sunday evening's incident as an attempted killing. The 28-year-old local woman had a cord tied around her neck, which was attached to the car's trailer hitch, they said.

The car drove through several streets, dragging the woman behind it. Police say the woman was found lying on a sidewalk with grave injuries.

At around the same time, a 38-year-old man from nearby Bad Muender went to a police station and said he was the perpetrator. He was arrested.

The man was the victim's ex-partner, Thomas Klinge, a spokesman for prosecutors in Hannover, said Monday. However, there was no immediate information on a possible motive.

The victim underwent an emergency operation on Sunday evening and was then flown to a specialist clinic.

Police said they couldn't confirm reports on social media that there had also been a shooting. They called for witnesses to come forward, particularly anyone who might have seen how the victim was uncoupled from the car.