Driver kills at least two after ramming into crowd at German Christmas market
Over 60 reported injured; local official says driver is a doctor from Saudi Arabia who was acting alone
Reuters — A driver killed at least two people when he rammed into a large crowd of revellers at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg on Friday evening, local officials said.
At least 60 people were injured, said Reiner Haseloff, premier of the state of Saxony-Anhalt, where Magdeburg is the capital. One of the dead was a young child, Haseloff added.
Police have arrested the suspected attacker, who Haseloff described as a doctor from Saudi Arabia who was acting alone.
“It’s a terrible tragedy. It is a catastrophe for the city of Magdeburg, for the state and for Germany in general,” Haseloff said.
Footage claimed to show the moment that the Saudi National who committed the Ramming Attack earlier tonight on a Christmas Market in the City of Magdeburg, was Arrested by German Police. pic.twitter.com/niZonLmTik
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) December 20, 2024
Police declined to give casualty numbers, confirming only a large-scale operation at the market, where people had gathered to celebrate in the days leading up to the Christmas holidays.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his “thoughts are with the victims and their families.”
A video posted on social media from a position above the market showed a car driving at speed through a crowd walking between two rows of market stalls. People could be seen knocked to the ground and running away. Reuters was able to verify the location, with the trees, outline and design of the buildings matching file and satellite imagery of the area.
Late last month, German interior minister Nancy Faeser advised people to be vigilant at Christmas markets.
Eight years ago, 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 Times of Israel Community.