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.
Images from Magdeburg ‘shock me deeply’, foreign minister says
The images from Magdeburg "shock me deeply", foreign minister Annalena Baerbock has said.
She has also offered her "deepest sympathy" to the victims and their families.
At least two dead, German official says
The Saxony-Anhalt state premier has said at least two people have died following the attack on the Christmas market.
Musk says German chancellor should resign after attack
Elon Musk has called on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to “resign immediately” following the attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg.
“Incompetent fool,” the US billionaire added in a post on X.
Musk called the “terrible” attack “deliberate mass murder”.
Explosive device suspected in perpetrator’s vehicle - reports
The Magdeburg police have cordoned off the site because they suspected an explosive device in the perpetrator's vehicle, according to German broadcaster MDR.
Suspect believed to be 50-year-old Saudi doctor
State governor Reiner Haseloff told reporters that the suspect is a 50-year-old Saudi doctor who first came to Germany in 2006.
Citizens' phone line set up for those affected and their families
The Magdeburg police have set up a citizens’ telephone line at 0391 - 546 1690 for those affected and their relatives.
Eyewitness: 'War-like conditions'
An anonymous eyewitness told the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung that the perpetrator "drove into the 'Fairy Tale' area of the Magdeburg Christmas market," and that there were many families present. She and her child were able to jump to the side of the vehicle.
A restaurateur said that the driver raced directly past his burger stand. He says the conditions are 'war-like'.
Christmas market in Erfurt evacuated after Magdeburg attack
A Christmas market in Erfurt has been evacuated as a precaution after the attack in Magdeburg. Thuringia’s Interior Minister Georg Maier (SPD) confirmed that this measure was taken at the request of the organiser, and there were no threats of specific danger.
One person was killed and more than 50 injured, officials say
The deputy mayor of the Germany city of Magdeburg said that at least one person was killed and dozens were injured after a car plowed into a busy Christmas market in what authorities suspect was an attack. Regina-Dolores Stieler-Hinz said that more than 50 people were injured, German news agency dpa reported. Authorities say the driver of the car was arrested.