Following a deliberate attack by a Saudi doctor at a crowded Christmas market in Magdeburg that resulted in the death of at least five individuals, including a young child, and left around 200 others injured, Germans are grieving the loss and grappling with a shattered sense of safety.
After detaining a 50-year-old suspect at the scene on Friday, authorities have taken him into custody for further investigation. Witnesses recount acts of kindness and support amidst the chaos, such as a resident who assisted victims for hours and provided blankets for the injured due to the cold weather.
The Christmas market remains closed to the public, marked by red-and-white tape and a heavy police presence, with officers stationed every few meters around the perimeter armed with machine guns to secure the area.
Some thermal security blankets still lay on the street.
Christmas markets are a German holiday tradition cherished since the Middle Ages, now successfully exported to much of the Western world.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry condemned the attack on X.
