Magdeburg Christmas Market Attack: Driver Drives Into Crowd, At Least Two Dead, Seventy Injured
December 21, 2024
Magdeburg Christmas market attack: driver plows into crowd, at least two dead, seventy injured
Police arrested a man from Saudi Arabia. There is a small child among the dead.
Emergency services treat the injured near the Magdeburg Christmas market.
Heiko Rebsch / dpa
A driver plowed into a group of people at a Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg on Friday evening. At least two people were killed in the crime in the capital of Saxony-Anhalt, including a young child, according to Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff. Seventy people were also injured, fifteen of them seriously, according to broadcaster MDR. Haseloff said the death toll could rise further. A police spokesman said the attacker drove about 400 meters through the Christmas market and hit many people. »id-doc-1ifinfied0″
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> A journalist from the German Press Agency reported shortly after the crime that the Christmas market was packed with ambulances and rescue workers. According to them, the injured were treated in a large Christmas pyramid. Several injured people were evacuated. A spokesman for the university hospital told the German Press Agency that the first 10 to 20 patients are currently being treated – but that they are preparing to take in many more injured people. "The intensive care beds are ready." »id-doc-1ifjd21q30»
> »id-doc-1ifjdfv8p0″ The alleged author arrested »Article »
is-new-line-child=> Apparently, the police were able to arrest a suspect shortly after the crime. According to Prime Minister Haseloff, he is a Saudi who worked and lived as a doctor in Bernburg. The Magdeburg police also confirmed this. Interior Minister Tamara Zieschang said the man had first arrived in Germany in 2006 and had a permanent residence permit. The German authorities would not have considered him an Islamist. »id-doc-1ifispkui0″
> Investigators speak of an atypical perpetrator because he is older, comes from Saudi Arabia, worked as a doctor and lived in Germany for a long time. He is also said to have applied for political asylum in Germany. The profiles attributed to him on social networks identify him as an activist who mainly advised Saudi women on how to escape and apply for asylum abroad. He was also portrayed in newspapers a few years ago. He describes himself as an ex-Muslim. However, he has also drawn attention to himself with crude theses. His biography on Platform X claims, among other things, that Germany is hunting Saudi refugees in order to destroy their lives and that Germany wants to Islamize Europe. Der Spiegel has analyzed several social media accounts of the alleged perpetrator, which show that he was a supporter of the AfD. »id-doc-1ifjc06gg1″
> »id-doc-1ifis99eb0″ « Christmas Market Attack » »Article »
is-new-line-child=> According to Saxony-Anhalt government spokesman Matthias Schuppe, it was "probably an attack". According to initial reports, city spokesman Michael Reif also spoke of an attack. No explosives were found in the car. This was initially feared. According to the police, the investigating authorities currently assume that the alleged perpetrator acted alone. »id-doc-1ifip9hh30″
> A video recorded on a mobile phone allegedly shows the suspect being arrested. In the clip described by the German Press Agency, a police officer can be seen pointing his gun at the suspect and asking him to lie down: “Hands behind your back!” and “Stay down!” The man lies on the ground next to a black car – visibly damaged – and follows the instructions. Finally, reinforcements arrive, several officers jump out of the emergency vehicle and circle around the suspect lying on the ground. The officer asks his colleagues not to “come so close”. »id-doc-1ifjd6qjh0″
> The injured were treated on site. Tents were set up for additional supplies. According to MDR, emergency services are expected to be on site all night. Several victims had to be flown to the University Hospital in Halle. »id-doc-1ifinfjq60″
> »id-doc-1ifjd938e0″ Condolences from home and abroad »Article »
is-new-line-child=> German Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote on Platform X: "My thoughts are with the victims and their families. We stand with you and with the people of Magdeburg." Scholz will travel to Magdeburg on Saturday. A memorial service will be held in the cathedral in the evening. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (also SPD) also wants to travel to Magdeburg. »id-doc-1ifiqo3eq0″
> Friedrich Merz, CDU and CSU candidate for chancellor, also wrote on X: "This is very depressing news from Magdeburg." His thoughts are with the victims and their families. »id-doc-1ifj12g5u1″
Special police forces on duty at the Magdeburg Christmas market. »lazy»
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is-new-line-child= »id-doc-1ifiqo5et0″> A new parliament will be elected in Germany at the end of February. The alleged attack therefore comes at an important moment in the election campaign, in which issues of internal security and migration play a major role. »Article »
is-new-line-child= »id-doc-1ifirb4nd0″> In his own words, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte contacted Chancellor Scholz and expressed his condolences. “My thoughts are with the victims and their families,” Rutte wrote on Platform X. “NATO stands with Germany.” »Article»
is-new-line-child= »id-doc-1ifjdchm00″> European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned the attack. “My thoughts today are with the victims of the brutal and cowardly act in Magdeburg,” she wrote on the X platform. Her condolences go to her relatives and friends, and her thanks to the police and emergency workers. “This act of violence must be investigated and severely punished.” »Article»
is-new-line-child= »id-doc-1ifjdchm20″> “We are shocked by reports of today’s attack in Magdeburg, Germany,” said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary-General. “We express our condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government and people of the Federal Republic.” We wish the injured a speedy recovery. »Article »
is-new-line-child= »id-doc-1ifjdnqlj0″> The American vice president-elect, JD Vance, also expressed his concern on Platform X: “What a terrible attack so close to Christmas.” »Article »
is-new-line-child= »id-doc-1ifjdnrqf0″> »Article » Alongside the attack on the Berlin Christmas market »p »
componenttype= »id-doc-1ifir5mm50″ is-new-line-child= »Article »> Almost exactly eight years ago to the day, Islamist Anis Amri drove a truck into the Christmas market on Breitscheidplatz in Berlin. The serious terrorist attack left thirteen dead and dozens injured. »subtitle »
componenttype=is-new-line-child= »id-doc-1ifipe4hk0″> The Tunisian entered Germany from Italy via Switzerland in July 2015. According to a commission of inquiry set up after the attack, he had already had plans for an attack at the time. The rejected asylum seeker was known to the authorities as an Islamist threat. »Article »
is-new-line-child= »id-doc-1ifipeg6g0″> On the anniversary of the attack, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on Wednesday: “The attacks in Solingen and Mannheim this year have shown in a terrible way the extent of the threat posed by Islamist terrorism.” The security authorities have the Islamist scene in their sights. »Article»
is-new-line-child= »id-doc-1ifirn6090″> »Article » «It will take us a long time to grieve» »p »
componenttype= »id-doc-1ifjcae620″ is-new-line-child= »Article »> A memorial service will take place on Saturday evening in Magdeburg Cathedral. The aim is to give those affected, relatives and all other citizens the opportunity to grieve, Mayor Simone Borris told reporters in tears in the evening. "We will need a lot of time to grieve," she said, visibly dazed.
The city of Magdeburg will close all cultural institutions, theatres, puppet theatres and other venues in the coming days, city spokesman Michael Reif announced.
Federal Interior Minister Faeser announced that she would travel to Magdeburg on Saturday with Chancellor Scholz "to express our deepest sympathy and to thank the emergency services." Haseloff said in the evening: "The Chancellor will come by tomorrow and assess the situation with us and will certainly not only mourn with us, but will also discuss the necessary measures."
The Federal Interior Minister has recently repeatedly called for vigilance when visiting Christmas markets. There are currently no concrete signs of danger, the SPD politician said at the end of November.
A look at the crime scene.
Heiko Rebsch / DPA
"id-doc-1ifis72d70" With agency material »Article» >Read more
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