At least one person killed and several injured in Germany Christmas market attack
At least one person has been killed and several others injured after a car was driven into a crowd of people at a Christmas market in Germany, according to local media reports.
The driver has been arrested following the incident in the city of Magdeburg, which is west of Berlin, News agency dpa said.
Public broadcaster MDR said at least one person had been killed.
Police said the market has been closed.
Key events
The perpetrator is a doctor from Saudi Arabia, according to German chancellor Olaf Scholz, Reuters reports.
Scholz added that the perpetrator acted alone and that at least 60 people have been injured.
The death count has increased to two, Scholz said, Reuters reports.
The German broadcaster MDR is reporting that another Christmas market in the city of Erfurt, in central Germany, is being evacuated.
They report the move is a precautionary measure and there is “no concrete evidence of any danger”.
Magdeburg’s University hospital said it is treating 10-20 patients and preparing for more, the press agency dpa is reporting.
City spokesperson Michael Reif said he suspects it was a deliberate act, adding there are “numerous injured” and that the “pictures are terrible”.
“My information is that a car drove into the Christmas market visitors, but I can’t yet say from what direction and how far,” Reif added.
‘At least 70 people injured, 15 of whom with serious injuries’
The attack has left one person dead and 70 injured, 15 of whom with severe injuries, MDR is reporting citing city officials.
Police suspect there was an explosive device in the vehicle that ploughed into a crowd at the Christmas market, broadcaster MDR is reporting.
Foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said the attack left her “shaken”.
In a statement on X, Baerbock wrote: “The pictures from Magdeburg leave me deeply shaken. For the families and friends who wanted to spend time together at the Christmas market nothing is as it was before. My deepest sympathies are with the victims and their loved ones. I want to thank the emergency crews and helpers.”
Die Bilder aus #Magdeburg erschüttern mich zutiefst. Für Familien und Freunde, die auf dem Weihnachtsmarkt Zeit miteinander verbringen wollten, ist nichts mehr, wie es war. Mein tiefstes Mitgefühl gilt den Opfern und ihren Angehörigen. Mein Dank den Rettungskräften und Helfern.
— Außenministerin Annalena Baerbock (@ABaerbock) December 20, 2024
It is unclear if the suspected attacker was acting alone, according to local broadcaster MDR.
One person has been arrested, authorities said.
MDR also reports the car used by the attacker was still at the market. It reportedly “drove at least 400 metres” into the crowd.
Germany deputy chancellor reacts to ‘horrible’ attack
Germany’s deputy chancellor, Robert Habeck, has reacted to the Christmas market attack in Magdeburg, saying it was “horrible news”.
“My thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones,” he wrote on X.
He also thanked emergency services on the scene.
Welch furchtbare Nachrichten aus #Magdeburg, wo Menschen die Adventszeit in Frieden und Gemeinschaft verbringen wollten. Meine Gedanken sind bei den Opfern und Angehörigen. Ich danke allen Einsatzkräften, die vor Ort alles geben, um zu helfen und die Hintergründe aufzuklären.
— Robert Habeck (@roberthabeck) December 20, 2024
All hospitals are preparing for a mass casualty event, a security official said, adding that the initial assessment is this was an attack.
Chancellor Scholz says thoughts are with victims and families
Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said “the news suggests something bad” and that his thoughts are with “the victims and their families”.
On 19 December 2016, a truck driven by Anis Amri, a failed Tunisian asylum seeker with Islamist links, crashed into a crowded Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring dozens of others. The attacker was killed days later in a shootout in Milan.
Dozens of people reported injured
About 60 to 80 people have been injured in the attack, according to the AFP news agency.
The state premier, Reiner Haseloff, who is on his way to the scene, said it is a “terrible event, especially now in the days before Christmas”, broadcaster MDR reported.
Weihnachtsmarkt Magdeburg, the Christmas market where the attack took place, has posted on Instagram warning people to leave the market and allow emergency services to do their work.
Many police officers and emergency services are on site and the market manager had told people to leave the city centre, MDR reported.
Witnesses told the broadcaster that the car drove straight into the crowd at the market in the direction of the town hall.
At least one person killed and several injured in Germany Christmas market attack
At least one person has been killed and several others injured after a car was driven into a crowd of people at a Christmas market in Germany, according to local media reports.
The driver has been arrested following the incident in the city of Magdeburg, which is west of Berlin, News agency dpa said.
Public broadcaster MDR said at least one person had been killed.
Police said the market has been closed.
