A car drives into a crowd of people at a Christmas market. At least two people die and dozens are injured. The authorities have arrested a man.
The act:
A car drove into a crowd at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, eastern Germany, on Friday evening. An adult and a small child were killed in the incident. According to the police, there were over 60 injured, including several seriously injured. The Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt, Reiner Haseloff (CDU), said that further deaths could not be ruled out. “This is a catastrophe for the city of Magdeburg and for the country and also for Germany in general,” said the Prime Minister.
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Legend:
Emergency services, police and fire departments are on duty at the Christmas market in Magdeburg.
Keystone / DPA / Heiko Rebsch
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Legend:
Forensics are working on the car with which the alleged perpetrator is said to have driven into a crowd of people at the Christmas market in Magdeburg.
Keystone / DPA / Hendrik Schmidt
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Legend:
Reiner Haseloff (m, CDU), Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt, Tamara Zieschang (l, CDU), Minister for the Interior and Sport of the State of Saxony-Anhalt, and Simone Borris (r), Mayor of the City of Magdeburg, at a press conference on the alleged Attack on the Magdeburg Christmas market.
Keystone / DPA / Hendrik Schmidt
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Legend:
A memorial service for the victims is planned in Magdeburg Cathedral on Saturday evening. The aim is to give those affected, relatives and all other citizens an opportunity to mourn, said Mayor Simone Borris in tears to journalists. “We will need a long time to mourn,” she said, visibly stunned.
Keystone/AP/Ebrahim Noroozi
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Legend:
The still image from a video shows police officers arresting a suspect at the Christmas market in Magdeburg. Note: The suspect's face has been blurred out.
Keystone / DPA / TNN / Privat
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Legend:
The police are on duty at the Christmas market.
Keystone / DPA / Hendrik Schmidt
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Legend:
Rescue workers arrived at the Magdeburg Christmas market after the suspected attack.
KEYSTONE/DPA/Dörthe Hein
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Numerous paramedics are on duty.
KEYSTONE/DPA/Heiko Rebsch
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Legend:
There is a large shopping center near the Christmas market.
KEYSTONE/DPA/Heiko Rebsch
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Legend:
According to media reports, the arrested driver is said to have driven around 400 meters across the Christmas market.
Heiko Rebsch/dpa
The alleged perpetrator:
The motives of the arrested suspect for the alleged attack are still unclear. The investigative authorities are currently assuming that the perpetrator was a lone perpetrator. The 50-year-old from Saudi Arabia was found at the scene by emergency services and arrested. He is said to have most recently worked as a doctor in the field of psychotherapy in Saxony-Anhalt. According to current information, he is not known to the authorities as an Islamist.
According to research by WDR and NDR, he is said to be a prominent figure in the Saudi exile community and was considered a contact person for asylum seekers, especially women. He has had asylum status as a political refugee since 2016. According to media reports, the alleged perpetrator is said to have developed into a radical critic of Islam in Germany and was looking for like-minded people. According to research by Spiegel, on his account at
Reactions from politics:
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced that she would come to Magdeburg on Saturday together with Chancellor Olaf Scholz “to express our deep sympathy and thank the emergency services.” The Federal Minister of the Interior recently repeatedly called for vigilance when visiting Christmas markets. There are currently no concrete indications of danger, said the SPD politician at the end of November. Chancellor Scholz addressed the victims and their relatives on Platform X.
French President Emmanuel Macron also wrote on X that he was deeply shocked. France shares the grief of the German people. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the act as “brutal and cowardly”. And Swiss Federal President Viola Amherd wrote on X that her thoughts were with the victims and their relatives. Switzerland is on Germany's side.
The memory of the Berlin Christmas market attack:
Almost exactly eight years ago to the day, on December 19, 2016, an Islamist terrorist drove a hijacked truck into the Christmas market at Breitscheidplatz in Berlin. 12 people were killed, the 13th victim died as a result in 2021. More than 70 people were injured. The assassin fled to Italy, where he was shot dead by the police. The police are now also being particularly careful in other cities with Christmas markets. In Stuttgart, a police spokesman said that police forces had been sensitized on site. In Berlin, a spokesman said officials had been asked to pay more attention to Christmas markets.
Swiss
