Car crashes into crowd at Christmas market in Germany; at least 2 dead, dozens injured, officials said

At least two people were killed and dozens injured after a car plowed into a busy Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, on Friday. Authorities said it appeared to be a deliberate attack.

The Prime Minister of the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Reiner Haseloff, in a press conference at the scene of the incident in Magdeburg, said that the suspect was a 50-year-old doctor who came to Germany in 2006. He said the suspect had a permanent residence and work permit. in the country.

Haseloff described it as a “single attack.” He said at least 60 were injured and could not say if they had died.

The driver of the car has been arrested, German news agency dpa reported, citing unnamed government officials in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. State government spokesman Matthias Schuppe and city spokesman Michael Reif said they suspected the act was deliberate.

Reif said “there are many injured,” but did not give an exact number.

“The pictures are terrible,” he said. “My information is that the car drove into the visitors of the Christmas market, but at the moment I cannot say from which direction and how far.”

Magdeburg University Hospital said it is treating 10 to 20 patients but is preparing for more, dpa reports.

The sounds of sirens from first responders clashed with the market’s holiday decorations, including ornaments, stars and garlands adorning vendors’ booths. Footage from the scene of the closed-off market shows debris on the ground.

“This is a bad event, especially in the days leading up to Christmas,” Haseloff said. Haseloff told dpa that he was on his way to Magdeburg but could not immediately say about the victims or what caused the incident.

Chancellor OIaf Scholz wrote in X: “My thoughts are with those who died and their relatives. We stand by them and by the people of Magdeburg.”

Magdeburg, west of Berlin, is the capital of the state of Saxony-Anhalt and has about 240,000 inhabitants.

The alleged attack comes eight years after the attack on a Christmas market in Berlin. On Dec. 19, 2016, Islamic extremism he plowed into the Christmas rush with a truck13 people died and dozens were injured. The attacker was killed days later in a shootout in Italy.

Christmas markets are a big part of German culture as an annual holiday tradition that has been valued since the Middle Ages and successfully exported to many Western countries. In Berlin alone, more than 100 markets opened late last month bringing the smell of mulled wine, roasted almonds and bratwurst to the capital. Other markets are spread across the country.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said late last month that there were no concrete signs of danger at Christmas markets this year, but said it was wise to be cautious. He said on Friday on social media, “The news from Magdeburg is very shocking. The emergency services are doing everything they can to take care of the injured and save lives. Our thoughts are with those who died and their families.”

This is a developing story. Please check again updates.