(Updated with details)
by Andrey Sychev and Tanya Wood
Two people, including a child, were killed on Friday at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, northeast Germany, in a car-ramming attack, authorities said.
The toll could rise, as more than 60 people were injured in the attack, Minister-President of the Land of Saxony-Anhalt, Reiner Haseloff, told the press.
“This is a catastrophe for the city of Magdeburg, for the state and for Germany in general,” said Reiner Haseloff.
The driver, a 50-year-old doctor of Saudi origin, was arrested, he said, adding that he may have acted alone.
The suspect's motives are not yet known.
A Saudi source told Reuters the kingdom had alerted German authorities after the attacker displayed extremist views in messages posted on his X account.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry condemned the attack.
“The information reaching us from Magdeburg portends the worst,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a message on X. “My thoughts are with the victims and their families,” he added.
Reiner Haseloff said the chancellor would travel to Magdeburg on Saturday.
On X, French President Emmanuel Macron said he was “deeply shocked”. “France shares the pain of the German people,” he added.
Eight years ago, in December 2016, a truck attack on the Berlin Christmas market, claimed by the Islamic State organization, left 12 dead and dozens injured.
(with Kirsti Knolle, Scot Stevenson and Madeline Chambers, written by Rachel More; French version Camille Raynaud)
