Of
Online editorial team
Police and emergency services at the scene of the attack, the man driving was arrested. He would have driven 400 meters. This would be a 50-year-old originally from Saudi Arabia who works as a doctor in Bernburg. He would have acted alone
Terrorist attack on MagdeburgGerman city west of Berlin: a car broke through the barriers of the Christmas market and hit several people, causing, second Bild, “at least 11 dead and 60 injured.” Numbers also reported by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who added that “at the moment there are no Italians” involved.
The spokesperson of the German governmentMatthias Schuppe, confirmed the attack hypothesisafter the first testimonies that spoke of a road accident. The police rushed to the scene of the accident where would have arrested the man driving the vehicle, which he would have rented shortly before the attack.
Psychiatrist originally from Saudi Arabia
According to German media, he is a 50-year-old who arrived in Germany in 2006 from Saudi Arabia. In 2016 he was granted refugee status, and now works as a doctor doctor in Bernburgmore precisely how specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy. He was not known to authorities as an Islamist.
According to the first accounts at Central German Radiothe local public radio and television broadcaster of the German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, around 7.04 pm the car – a dark BMW – would have been thrown in a zigzag at high speed against people for 400 meters towards the town hall in the city centre. In a video then, we see the terrorist slow down, get out of the car and kneel on the ground.
Investigations underway: operations also in Bernburg
A piece of luggage was found on the passenger side, it is not yet known what it may contain. Officers are working to understand if it may contain explosives. It is not yet clear what is inside, which is why residents, according to Bildthey cannot yet return to their homes in Breiten Weg. Indeed, we are also considering the option of evacuate other residents.
The police are investigating – operations are also underway in Bernburg where the police are said to have raided a house – but according to what was declared by the Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt, Reiner Erich Haseloff (CDU), the suspect «he would have acted alone, like a lone wolf».
A witness: «Conditions similar to war»
According to the story of a witness, the man entered the market passing through the “fairytale” area, where many families were present, while a seller declared that he saw him running past his hamburger stand, talking about “war-like conditions”. Meanwhile, the injured are treated in front of the market stalls, or in the tents set up by the numerous paramedics on duty.
Scholz: «My thoughts go to the victims»
Olaf Scholz – who will travel to the site tomorrow together with Interior Minister Nancy Faeser – commented on the attack on X: «The reports from Magdeburg suggest something bad. My thoughts go out to the victims and their families. We are at your side and at the side of the people of Magdeburg. My thanks go to the rescuers involved in these anxious hours.” Meanwhile, on He's an incompetent idiot.”
Haseloff declared immediately after the attack: «This is a terrible eventespecially now in the days before Christmas.” Haseloff is going to the accident site to get an idea of what happened.
Messages of sympathy for the victims of Magdeburg also arrived from abroad. Von der Leyen wrote in X: «My condolences go to relatives and friends, my thanks to the police and emergency services. This act of violence must be investigated and severely punished».
Erfurt market evacuated
Meanwhile, the Erfurt Christmas market was evacuated as a precautionary measure at the request of the organisers, while the city of Halle – around 80 km away, has increased security for its stalls, with hospitals in the area preparing to accommodate the wounded. The first 10 to 20 patients have already been admitted to the Magdeburg University Hospital. This was confirmed by the head of the city's security department, Tobias Teschner, al Central German newspaper.
The Berlin attack eight years ago
The world remembers a similar attack that happened eight years ago in Berlin. On December 19, 2016, an Islamic terrorist hijacked a truck at the Christmas market on Breitscheidplatz, taking the lives of 13 people and injuring more than 70, some of them seriously. The assassin fled to Italy after the attack, where he was killed by the police.
Article being updated…
December 20, 2024 (changed December 20, 2024 | 11:58 pm)
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
