Car rest at the Christmas market

Attack in Magdeburg: one child killed

Four days before Christmas Eve, a man drove a car into the crowd at the Christmas market in Magdeburg. There are numerous victims and the man was arrested.

At least two people, an adult and a small child, were killed in the attack. This was said by Saxony-Anhalt’s Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff.

However, there are sometimes higher numbers circulating in the media. Exactly how many people died in the attack cannot be determined with certainty at this point. According to Haseloff, a lot of people were injured – at least 60. Further deaths cannot be ruled out. “It’s a terrible tragedy,” Haseloff said.

The arrested suspect is a doctor who lives and works in Bernburg. According to previous findings, he was a lone perpetrator and was not known to the authorities as an Islamist. “According to the current status, he is a single perpetrator, so as of now there is no further danger to the city because we were able to arrest him and all investigations are now underway.”

State Interior Minister Tamara Zieschang said the man came from Saudi Arabia, that he came to Germany for the first time in 2006 and that he had a permanent residence permit. According to Haseloff, the perpetrator drove a rental car into the crowd at the Christmas market.

According to information from “Welt”, a piece of luggage was found on the passenger seat. It is unclear whether there might be an explosive device inside; The authorities have not yet ruled out this scenario. The police are also checking whether the driver acted alone, it said.

• Attack in Magdeburg: All developments in the news blog

It was “a terrible tragedy,” said Haseloff. “This is a catastrophe for the city of Magdeburg and for the country and also for Germany in general.” Especially in connection with Christmas, it is one of the worst things you can only imagine.

The perpetrator was questioned by the head of government by the police. He therefore works as a doctor for a company. “Given the severity of the attack, he also had signals that the Federal Prosecutor General could take action,” said Haseloff.

Several videos about the incident are circulating on the Internet platform X. You can see a car driving at high speed through an alley between market stalls and hitting numerous people.

An eyewitness reported to the “Mitteldeutsche Zeitung” that the perpetrator drove into the fairy tale area of ​​the Christmas market, where many families were out and about. She was just able to jump to the side with her child. A restaurateur reports that the perpetrator raced right past his burger stand. The man speaks of “war-like conditions”.

Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was horrified. “The anticipation of a peaceful Christmas was suddenly interrupted by the reports from Magdeburg,” he explained. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) said his thoughts were with the victims and their relatives. He thanked “the dedicated rescue workers in these anxious hours”. Numerous other politicians made similar statements.

Haseloff announced that Chancellor Scholz would visit Magdeburg on Saturday. This will probably not just be about shared grief, but also about “discussing measures that are necessary.”

The police are looking for clues, photos and videos surrounding the fatal attack on the Magdeburg Christmas market. Witnesses could upload these to the information portal of the Saxony-Anhalt police, informed the Magdeburg police station. A citizen telephone was also switched on. This can be reached at number 0391/5461690, it said.