At a Christmas market in Magdeburg, a city in eastern Germany, a car plowed into a crowd on Friday, resulting in at least two fatalities and nearly 70 injuries.
Following the incident, which occurred at 7:04pm, authorities arrested the driver of the dark BMW involved. Unnamed government sources in Saxony-Anhalt informed the dpa news agency about the arrest.
Bild reported that the car was driven ‘at least 400m (1,300ft) across the Christmas market’, per a police spokesperson.
Reports suggest that the alleged perpetrator is a man from Saudi Arabia born in 1974, as per Welt. State leader Reiner Haselhoff mentioned that the individual is a Saudi doctor employed in Saxony-Anhalt. According to German broadcaster MDR, there is suspicion of an explosive device inside the vehicle.
According to emergency services, who have set up tents to immediately treat victims, several people were ‘severely’ injured.
While official figures say that two people, including a toddler, have died, local media have put the death toll at 11.
Video footage too graphic to share appears to show the dark car careening into the dense crowd, leaving dozens of people lying on the floor.
Within seconds, countless revellers can be see fleeing for their lives in the wake of the crash. Separate footage showed children crying loudly as several small crowds of people formed over those injured in the crash, in apparent attempts to help them.
One man who spoke to German newspaper Mitteldeutsche Zeitung said the Christmas market has turned to ‘war-like conditions’, while another eyewitness told the newspaper that there were countless families in the ‘fairytale area’ of the market when the car crashed through the crowd.
Local police said on X that ‘extensive police operations are currently taking place’, adding that further reports will be made shortly.
The Magdeburg Christmas market is located on the Old Market, directly next to Magdeburg Town Hall near the River Elbe, and was closed by organisers following the incident.
Organisers have also asked people to leave the city centre. A spokesperson in the city said that all hospitals are ‘preparing for a mass casualty event.’
Magdeburg’s University Hospital said tonight it was ‘taking care of 10 to 20 patients’, adding it was preparing for more.
Neighbouring cities, including Halle, around 50 miles from Magdeburg, are preparing its hospitals to take on victims.
Halle is also stepping up its own security measures in the wake of the incident.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed his concern in a post to X, writing: ‘The reports from Magdeburg suggest something bad. My thoughts are with the victims and their families.’
Saxony-Anhalt’s Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff said in the wake of the attack: ‘This is a terrible event, especially now in the days before Christmas.’
Haselhoff is said to be travelling to the city to bear witness to the aftermath of the attack.
Robert Habeck, Germany’s vice-chancellor, said in a post to X: ‘What terrible news from Magdeburg, where people wanted to spend the Advent season in peace and community.
‘My thoughts are with the victims and their families. I thank all the emergency services on site who are doing everything they can to help and to clarify the background.’
CDU candidate for chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) wrote on X: ‘This is very depressing news from Magdeburg. My thoughts are with the victims and their families. I thank all emergency services who are caring for the injured on site.’
AfD leader Alice Weidel, meanwhile, wrote on the platform: ‘The images from Magdeburg are shocking! My thoughts are with the bereaved and injured. When will this madness end?’
Magdeburg, which is west of Berlin, is the state capital of Saxony-Anhalt and has about 240,000 inhabitants.
The horror crash comes less than a month after Germany’s interior minister Nancy Faeser said that while there were no concrete indications of a danger to Christmas markets this year, it was wise to be vigilant.
This is a breaking story – more to follow.
