Two Confirmed Dead, Dozens Injured After Car Plows Into Christmas Market
At least two people were killed and 68 injured when a car plowed into a crowd of people at a Christmas market in Germany, according to reports.
Local police said on X that an “extensive” operation is underway at the scene in Magdeburg, a city in the eastern part of the country.
The driver of the car was arrested, and has been identified by Saxony-Anhalt Interior Minister Tamara Zieschang as a 50-year-old Saudi Arabian doctor who came to Germany in 2006, according to the Associated Press.
“As things stand, he is a lone perpetrator, so that as far as we know there is no further danger to the city,” Saxony-Anhalt Governor Reiner Haseloff told reporters, per the AP.
While German media outlet Bild had previously reported that 11 people were dead, Haseloff has since stated that the death toll was two, one of whom was a small child, according to the AP.
He added that given how many people were seriously injured, he couldn’t rule out further deaths.
“But that is speculation now,” he said, according to the AP. “Every human life that has fallen victim to this attack is a terrible tragedy and one human life too many.”
The AP reported that 15 people had serious injuries, 37 had injuries of medium severity, and 16 had minor injuries, based on government officials and the city’s website.
The incident mirrors an Islamist terrorist attack on a German Christmas market that happened eight years ago to the day and killed 13. The man driving the car was later killed in a shootout with police in Milan, Italy.
While the motivation for the incident on Friday is unknown, city spokesperson Michael Reif told the AP that it was believed to be a deliberate attack.
A graphic video circulating on social media shows the car ramming into a dense crowd of people at high speed. Panic erupts as the shoppers attempt to scramble out of harm’s way, though some are visibly unable to.
“It’s a terrible tragedy—this is a catastrophe for the city of Magdeburg and for the state, and for German generally as well,” Haseloff said, according to the AP. “It is really one of the worst things one can imagine, particularly in connection with what a Christmas market should bring.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz echoed the sentiment in a statement on social media.
“My thoughts are with the victims and their families,” he said in German, according to ABC News. “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.”
