Magdeburg market attack latest: Child among two dead with up to 80 injured after car ploughs into crowd in Germany
At least two people were killed and 15 are seriously injured, according to government officials
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Your support makes all the difference.A driver plowed a car into a busy outdoor Christmas market in eastern Germany, killing two people and injuring at least 68 others in what authorities suspect was a deliberate attack.
The suspect drove into Magdeburg Christmas market at around 7pm, when it was busy with holiday shoppers looking forward to the weekend.
At least two people were killed, including a toddler, and 68 were injured, including 15 who were hurt very seriously, according to government officials. It said 37 people had injuries of medium severity and 16 were lightly injured.
Saxony-Anhalt's Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff said he couldn’t rule out further deaths because so many people were seriously injured. It was earlier reported that the death toll was 11 by German newspaper Bild.
The suspected driver of the car was arrested at the scene and has been named by local media as Taleb. A, a 50-year-old Saudi doctor who first came to Germany in 2006.
Pictures showed the vehicle severely damaged following the attack.
Regional government spokesperson Matthias Schuppe and city spokesperson Michael Reif said they suspected it was an attack.
Magdeburg, west of Berlin, is the state capital of Saxony-Anhalt and has about 240,000 inhabitants.
‘NATO stands with Germany'
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has reached out to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to offer his condolences.
He posted on X: “Horrific scenes from a Christmas market in #Magdeburg. I have reached out to @Bundeskanzler to offer my condolences.
“My thoughts are with the victims and their families. #NATO stands with #Germany.”
‘Security failed’ Terror expert warns
Terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler told broadcaster ZDF: “First of all, it is surprising that a vehicle of any size can still drive into a German Christmas market in a big city.
“The fact that an attack with a car was successful indicates a flaw in the security concept.”
Thursday was the eighth anniversary of the terrible Christmas market attack on Berlin’s Breitscheidplatz which killed 12.
Chancellor Scholz to visit site on Saturday
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit Magdeburg on Saturday.
“The Chancellor will come here tomorrow and assess the situation with us and will certainly not only mourn with us but also discuss the necessary measures,” said Reiner Haseloff, the regional prime minister.
“And I can imagine that due to the seriousness of this attack, the Federal Prosecutor General will also take action,” he added.
British Foreign Office ‘closely monitoring the situation'
The Foreign Office said it is “closely monitoring the situation” in Germany.
A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said: “We are in contact with the German authorities following an incident in the city of Magdeburg and are closely monitoring the situation.
“Our thoughts are with all those affected.”
Residents still unable to return to homes as object in car investigated
A piece of luggage which was found on the passenger seat of the car is still being investigated by police.
According to German outlet BILD, residents are not yet allowed to return to their homes on Breiten Weg. More residents may need to be evacuated.
Police operation at property in Bernburg
The arrested man comes from Bernburg, Saale, according to German outlet Mitteldeutsche Zeitung.
The newspaper reported that one of the police cars was parked in front of an apartment building while heavily armed forces entered a house on Christianstrasse. Eyewitnesses said residents' doorbells have been rung.
When asked, the police did not want to confirm whether the operation was connected to the attack in Magdeburg.
French president 'deeply shocked' by attack
French President Emmanuel Macron has said he "deeply shocked by the horror that struck the Magdeburg Christmas market".
“My thoughts are with the victims, the injured, and their loved ones and families,” he said in a post o X.
“France shares the pain of the German people and expresses its full solidarity.”
'Act of violence must be severely punished,' EU chief says
EU president Ursula von der Leyen has said her thoughts are “with the victims of the brutal and cowardly act”.
“This act of violence must be investigated and severely punished,” she added in a post on X.
Eyewitness says she doesn’t know where her boyfriend is
Nadine, 32, from Wolfsburg, said she travelled to Magdeburg with her boyfriend Marco, 39, because it is supposed to be the most beautiful Christmas market.
Nadine had her arm around her boyfriend Marco when the car came racing towards them. “He was hit and pulled away from my side,” she told Bild.
“He was terrible. Nobody even screamed. You couldn’t even hear the car.”
Marco sustained injuries to his leg and head. “We don’t know which hospital he went to. The uncertainty is unbearable.”
Attack was carried out by one person, officials say
The attacker acted alone, according to preliminary information, the regional prime minister of Saxony-Anhalt said.
“We are currently in the process of compiling all further data and also carrying out the interrogation. According to the current information, it is an individual perpetrator, so there is no longer any danger to the city because we were able to arrest him,” Reiner Haseloff said in televised remarks.