German Christmas market attack - latest: Death toll rises to five with 200 injured after ‘brutal’ car attack
200 people injured in attack, 40 critical
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Your support makes all the difference.Five people have now died after a car ploughed into a busy Christmas market in eastern Germany on Friday, authorities confirmed.
Speaking at the scene in Magdeburg on Saturday, Saxony-Anhalt’s governor confirmed the death toll had risen and that 200 people had been injured.
He spoke alongside German chancellor Olaf Scholz, who condemned the attack and vowed to use the full strength of the law.
“What a terrible act it is to injure and kill so many people there with such brutality,” Scholz told reporters. “Almost 40 are so seriously injured that we must be very worried about them.
According to German media, 41 people have been critically injured, 90 seriously injured and a further 80 are suffering minor injuries.
Among the dead is a toddler, who was confirmed to have been killed on Friday following the attack at around 7pm.
Police have arrested a 50-year-old Saudi doctor identified by local media as Taleb A., who had lived in Germany since 2006 and reportedly sympathised with Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany party.
The attack sparked global condemnation from world leaders, including UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, who said he is “horrified” by the “atrocious attack”.
Memorial service to be held tonight
A memorial service will be held in Magdeburg on Saturday night to commemorate the victims of Friday night’s attack in the town.
Magdeburg city mayor Simone Borris said: “I am shocked, deeply affected and my heart goes out to the victims and their families.”
She announced a memorial would be held at 7pm loacal time and added: “I could never have imagined that Magdeburg would be affected by such an act.”
Scholz thanks world for solidarity
As he finished his press conference in Magdeburg, German chancellor Olaf Scholz thanked the international community for their support.
“It is very positive to hear that Germany is not alone,” he said.
World leaders including the UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer sent their condolences on Friday following the attack
Christmas market attack suspect was clearly Islamophobic, German minister says
The suspect arrested in connection with a deadly car-ramming attack at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg was Islamophobic, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told reporters on Saturday.
“This was clear to see,” Faeser said.
The minister declined to elaborate on the man’s political affiliations.
What did Scholz and Haseloff say on Saturday?
On Saturday, Saxony-Anhalt’s governor Reiner Haseloff and German chancellor Olaf Scholz adressed crowds gathered at the scene of Friday’s Christmas market attack.
Haseloff confirmed that the death toll has increased to five, with more than 200 more injured after a car rammed into the crowd at around 7pm.
He said it was “astonishing” and “unimaginable” that “something like this could happen in Germany,” as he thanked emergency service workers.
Scholz said the government will be providing support for those who need it as he condemned the attack that happened in the “peaceful and joyful” setting od a Christmas market.
He said he was worried about the status of 40 people who are very seriouslt injured as he vowed to use the full strength of the law to enure justice is served.
He called for unity and added: “We should not allow those who wish to sow hate to do so.”
Watch: German chancellor Scholz lays flower near scene of Christmas market attack
German chancellor vows to respond to ‘brutal attack’ with ‘full strength of law'
German chancellor Olaf Scholz vowed to use the “full strength of the law” as he spoke at the scene of Friday’s attack in Magdeburg.
After arriving at the market to pay tribute to the victims on Saturday morning, he told reporters alongside the state governer that nearly 40 of those injured are “so seriously injured that we must be very worried about them”.
He said: “What an awful crime this is, such brutality.”
The chancellor called on the nation to stand together against hate.
Death toll rises to five
The number of people killed by a car ramming into a German Christmas market has now risen to 5, authorities confirmed.
Saxony-Anhalt’s governor Reiner Haseloff told reporters at the scene of the attack in Magdeburg that the death toll had risen and that 200 people have been injured, many seriously.
Chancellor giving statement now
Saxony-Anhalt’s governor Reiner Haseloff is now giving a statement next to German chancellor Olaf Scholz in Magdeburg.
He confirmed five people have died and 200 people have been injured.
Olaf Scholz lays flowers at a tribute to victims
‘Children screaming, crying for mama’: Eyewitness returns to scene to pay respects
Andrea Reis, who had been at the market on Friday, returned on Saturday with her daughter Julia to lay a candle by the church overlooking the site. She said that had it not been for a matter of moments, they may have been in the car’s path.
“I said, ‘let’s go and get a sausage’, but my daughter said ‘no let’s keep walking around’. If we’d stayed where we were we’d have been in the car’s path,” she said.
Tears ran down her face as she described the scene. “Children screaming, crying for mama. You can’t forget that,” she said.