A car has driven into a crowd of shoppers at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg, killing at least two people. More than 60 others were hurt. One of those confirmed dead was a young child.
Social media footage from the scene shows a vehicle hurtling at high speed along a narrow alley between Christmas market stalls, knocking over many people.
Local officials say they suspect it was a deliberate attack.
TV pictures showed a suspect being arrested by police with guns drawn. They say he is a 50-year-old Saudi national who’s been working as a doctor in Germany since 2006.
A woman who was with her boyfriend at the Christmas market in Magdeburg has told local media about seeing the car used in the attack come speeding towards them.
“He was hit and pulled away from my side. It was terrible,” 32-year-old Nadine told the Bild newspaper.
The boyfriend is said to have sustained injuries to his leg and head.
So far two people – a toddler and an adult – are known to have been killed in the attack. Some 68 people were injured, 15 of them seriously.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has condemned the “brutal and cowardly act” in Magdeburg.
In a statement on X, the German politcian said that her thoughts were “with the victims”.
“My condolences go out to the family and friends, my thanks to the police and rescue workers,” she said. “This act of violence must be investigated and severely punished.”
While the local authorities say they believe the suspect acted alone, a counter-terrorism expert believes it is too early to rule out the involvement of a wider network.
“I think the announcement is giving the wrong impression,” Hans-Jakob Schindler, a senior director at the Counter Extremism Project at the International Center for Counter-Terrorism think tank, told Germany’s public broadcaster DW, external.
“In the car there was only this one individual, and it was important [for the police] to highlight that so there was not a panic after the attack that there were other perpetrators in the town.”
Schindler said reports of a suspicious bag also being found in the car could point to the suspect having had support. However, both scenarios remained plausible.
“Obviously, everything is possible to do by yourself, you can rent a car by yourself, you can buy gas canisters by yourself, you can build an explosive device by yourself,” he added.
“But all these things in combination give the possibility of a wider support network, who were not in the car but helped the man prepare, and that is really important to determine.”
This isn’t the first time people have been killed by a vehicle at Christmas market in Germany.
Eight years ago, a failed asylum seeker with Islamist links crashed into a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people.
Anis Amri had links to the self-styled Islamic State (IS) group, and went on the run after the attack.
As we’ve been reporting, the suspect is believed to be a Saudi doctor permanently resident in Germany.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has expressed “solidarity with the German people and the families of the victims” following Friday’s incident in Magdeburg.
In a brief statement on X, external, its foreign ministry also condemned the attack.
As the incident at Magdeburg’s Christmas market was taking place, the city’s football team were playing a fixture away against Fortuna Dusseldorf at the Merkur Spiel-Arena.
During the game, the news was relayed to the stadium via a video wall.
The statement describes how a car has driven into a group of people at Magdeburg’s Christmas market.
After the game finished, the Magdeburg players united in a line in front of their travelling supporters.
On the club’s website, a statement reads: “FCM’s thoughts are with those affected by the terrible events at the Magdeburg Christmas market.”
Tamara Zieschang, interior minister for the state of Saxony-Anhalt, has given more details about Friday’s attack in Magdeburg:
“This is one of the darkest days for Saxony-Anhalt and also for the state capital Magdeburg. As things stand, we have two fatalities to mourn and a large number of injured.
“The perpetrator has been arrested. He is a 50-year-old man from Saudi Arabia, who first entered the Federal Republic of Germany in 2006. He had a permanent residence permit and thus a permanent residence permit.
“Most recently he worked as a doctor in Bernburg [35km; 22 miles south of Magdeburg]. According to our current information, he acted alone. There is no information on other perpetrators. Everything else is the subject of further investigations.”
