Magdeburg market car attack: What we know so far about the suspected driver of the SUV
Police arrested a 50-year-old man after a car was driven into a crowd of people at a busy Christmas market in Magdeburg on Friday night
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Your support makes all the difference.Police have arrested a 50-year-old man after a car ploughed into a busy outdoor Christmas market in Magdeburg on Friday evening, killing at least two people and injuring at least 60 others.
A toddler is among the dead, officials confirmed on Friday evening.
Footage showed the vehicle breaking through barriers before speeding 400 metres through the crammed “fairytale-like” Magdeburg market.
Here is everything we know about the suspect
Who is the suspect?
The suspect is a 50-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia who first came to Germany in 2006, Saxony-Anhalt interior minister Tamara Zieschang told reporters.
Authorities have not released his name, but he has been identified by local media as Taleb. A.
The man was recognised as a refugee in 2016 and is a consultant for psychiatry and psychotherapy in the nearby town of Bernburg, about 20 miles away.
“The perpetrator has been arrested,” Zieschang confirmed. “He is a 50-year-old man from Saudi Arabia, who first entered the Federal Republic of Germany in 2006. He had a permanent residence permit and thus a permanent residence permit.”
The vehicle the suspect was driving, a black BMW, was pictured smashed up at the scene behind a police cordon.
Footage showed the suspect lying on the floor as an officer pointed a gun at him and shouted at him not to move before other officers arrived.
Follow our live coverage of the incident here
How many people have died?
Saxony-Anhalt state governor Reiner Haseloff said the two people who were confirmed to have died were an adult and a small child, but that he could not rule out further deaths because so many people were seriously injured.
“But that is speculation now. Every human life that has fallen victim to this attack is a terrible tragedy and one human life too many,” he said.
“It’s a terrible tragedy - this is a catastrophe for the city of Magdeburg and for the state, and for Germany generally as well,” Haseloff said. “It is really one of the worst things one can imagine, particularly in connection with what a Christmas market should bring.”
At least 60 people were injured, including 15 who were hurt very seriously, according to government officials and the city government’s website.
They said more than 30 people had injuries of medium severity and 16 were lightly injured.
City spokesperson Michael Reif said he suspected the incident was a deliberate act.