A driver plowed a car into a crowd of people at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg on Friday evening in an apparent deliberate attack.
UPDATE 2220: At least two people have now died following a car attack at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt state Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff said. Haseloff revealed that one of the slain victims was a toddler and the other an adult. According to the latest estimates around 70 people were injured including 15 seriously, broadcaster MDR reports.
UPDATE 2135: According to Germany’s Welt, the suspected attacker is believed to be a man from Saudi Arabia born in 1974 per security service sources speaking to the country’s paper of record. The man is also believed to have rented the car shortly before the attack.
UPDATE 2115: Reactions from political leaders have begun to pour in following the tragedy in Magdeburg. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said: “The reports from Magdeburg suggest bad things. My thoughts are with the victims and their families. We stand by their side and by the side of the people of Magdeburg. My thanks go to the dedicated rescue workers in these anxious hours.”
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz said: “This is very depressing news from Magdeburg . My thoughts are with the victims and their families. I thank all the emergency services who are caring for the injured on site.”
The leader of the anti-mass migration Alternative for Germany party Alice Weidel exclaimed: “The pictures from Magdeburg are shocking! My thoughts are with the bereaved and wounded. When will this madness end?”
UPDATE 1950: At least one person has reportedly died according to local news outlet MDR, citing police in Magdeburg. Rescue services said that there were between 60 and 80 people injured in the attack.
The original story continues as follows…
Eyewitnesses claimed that a driver drove directly into a large group of people gathered in a Christmas market in Magdeburg in Central Germany.
According to spokesman for the local state government in Saxony-Anhalt, Matthias Schuppe, the incident was an intentional attack, broadcaster NTV reports.
The driver was immediately arrested, however, at the time of this reporting, his identity or possible motive remain unclear.
The German newspaper BILD reports that over 20 people were injured during the attack. It is currently unclear if anyone has died.
The paper also reported that police have cordoned off the Christmas market while they conduct a search for explosives.
Saxony-Anhalt’s Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff said: “This is a terrible event, especially now in the days before Christmas.”
A female witness, who said she and her child barely escaped being hit by the car, lamented that the perpetrator “drove to the fairytale area of the Magdeburg Christmas market of all places”.
The owner of a burger stand, who claimed that the car sped directly past his shop, said the aftermath was “war-like conditions”.
The attack appears to be similar to the 2016 terrorist attack on a Christmas market in Berlin when a man hijacked a truck and used it to plow down people attending the market. In total, 13 people died as a result of the attack and dozens were left injured. The attacker, a failed asylum seeker from Tunisia named Anis Amri, fled to Italy and was shot and killed by police in Milan days later.
This story is developing, more to follow…
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