Please click here for the latest developments about the attack at the Magdeburg Christmas market.
A car was driven into a crowd of people at a Christmas market in the central German city of Magdeburg on Friday night.
Two other people were killed, according to Saxony-Anhalt state Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff, who said at least 60 other people were injured, many of them seriously.
Haseloff said police arrested the driver, a Saudi citizen, and believed he acted alone. Magdeburg police announced an arrest online.
Haseloff said the man was a doctor with permanent residency status and that he has lived in Germany since 2006. He had used a rental car in the attack.
Authorities have closed the Christmas market and emergency services are at the scene.
A spokesperson for Magdeburg University Hospital told DPA that the first 10 to 20 patients had already arrived at the centre, adding: “Lately we are preparing [to get more]. The intensive care beds are ready. “
Friday’s incident was reminiscent of the attack on a Christmas market in Berlin in 2016. This crime, perpetrated by an Islamist aboard a stolen truck, left thirteen dead and more than 70 injured.
Friedrich Merz, chancellor candidate of the conservative CDU party, was saddened by the news from Magdeburg.
“My thoughts are with the victims and their families. I would like to thank all the emergency services taking care of the injured on site,” he said.
Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck was also surprised by the “terrible news coming from Magdeburg, where other people wanted to spend the Advent season in peace and community. My mind is with the sick and their families. “
Chancellor Olaf Scholz reacted to the X incident by saying that “the news from Magdeburg suggests the worst. ” He also expressed his gratitude to the first responders.
“Anticipation of a peaceful Christmas celebration was abruptly interrupted by the news from Magdeburg,” said German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Magdeburg, a city west of Berlin, is the capital of the state of Saxony-Anhalt and is home to about 240,000 inhabitants.
js,nm/msh (dpa, AP, Reuters)