A car has driven into a crowd at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg. At least two people have died and more than 50 are injured.
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A car has driven into a group of people at a Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg, killing at least two people and injuring a minimum of 50 others.
Regional governor Reiner Haseloff, the incident has resulted in at least two deaths, including a small child. Haseloff stated that the suspected perpetrator is a doctor from Saudi Arabia working in Saxony-Anhalt, whose capital is Magdeburg.
Authorities suspect it was a deliberate act by the driver. He was not previously known to authorities as an Islamic extremist, said dpa, citing unidentified security officials.
Social media videos from the scene show the immediate aftermath of the incident with multiple wounded at the scene.
German Chancellor OIaf Scholz posted on X: “My thoughts are with the victims and their relatives. We stand beside them and beside the people of Magdeburg.”
German security authorities called for 'vigilance' at Christmas markets
Less than a month ago, on November 28, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser called for "great vigilance" at Germany's popular Christmas markets.
She stressed that there was no "concrete" evidence of a threat, but rather what she called a high threat situation more broadly.
"Federal security authorities do not currently have any concrete indications of danger," she told the newspapers of the RND media group.
"But in view of the high threat situation at an abstract level we still have reason to be very vigilant and to take effective action for our security."
Nancy Faeser stated that security authorities were monitoring "all conceivable threats" and pointed at the heightened security measures, including the enforcement of a strict knife ban at Christmas markets.
Berlin Christmas market attack of 2016
8 years ago, on December 19, 2016, a Christmas market in Berlin was attacked when a man who pledged his allegiance to Islamic State (IS) drove a stolen truck through the crowd of visitors, killing 13 people and injuring dozens.
Security measures have been reinforced since the attack in the German capital. Such areas in Berlin are now protected by concrete barriers and strict security precautions have been put in place for the festive period. The question remain whether the same security measures have been introduced in smaller cities across the country.
Just two weeka go, German authorities reported that they have foiled a potential terror attack on a Christmas market in Bavaria after a tip-off from a foreign intelligence agency. The 37-year-old suspect from Iraq was arrested in shared accommodation for asylum-seekers in Augsburg, German newspaper Welt reported, citing the sources who allegedly said the suspect had disseminated posts on social media glorifying and photographed the Christmas market in Augsburg. He allegedly talked about wanting to drive a car through the market, according to the Welt report.
The deadly incident in Magdeburg is sending shockwaves through Germany amid an ongoing political crisis as the country is gearing up for elections early next year.
Magdeburg is located to the southeast of the capital Berlin in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, and has a population of around 240,000 people.