A car rammed into a bustling outdoor Christmas market in Magdeburg, eastern Germany, on Friday evening, leaving at least two people dead and over 60 injured in what authorities believe to be a deliberate act.
The driver, arrested shortly after the incident, drove into the market around 7 p.m. as holiday shoppers crowded the area. Footage released by the German news agency dpa shows the suspect being apprehended, with a police officer pointing a handgun at him before other officers arrived to detain him.
Among the deceased were an adult and a toddler, while 15 of the injured remain in critical condition. Authorities cautioned that additional fatalities could not be ruled out.
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The incident devastated the city, with its mayor visibly emotional. In response, several other German towns canceled their weekend Christmas markets as a precaution and to show solidarity with Magdeburg.
The suspect, identified as a 50-year-old Saudi doctor who has been living in Germany since 2006, practiced medicine in Bernburg, roughly 40 kilometers south of Magdeburg, according to Saxony-Anhalt's Interior Minister Tamara Zieschang. Officials believe he acted alone, with Saxony-Anhalt Governor Reiner Haseloff describing the tragedy as a “terrible loss.”
Magdeburg, a city of 240,000 west of Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt’s capital, is no stranger to such violence. The attack comes eight years after an Islamic extremist killed 13 people by driving a truck into a Berlin Christmas market.
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Christmas markets are a beloved German tradition, cherished for centuries and integral to the festive season. However, despite assurances from German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser last month that there were no specific threats, the attack has cast a shadow over this year’s celebrations.
Sirens echoed through Magdeburg’s streets on Friday, contrasting sharply with the market’s festive decorations. Resident Dorin Steffen described the scene as a “dark day,” adding, “We are shaking—full of sympathy for the victims and their families.”
Flags will be lowered to half-staff across Saxony-Anhalt, with a memorial service planned at Magdeburg’s cathedral. Chancellor Olaf Scholz, NATO’s secretary-general, and other leaders expressed their condolences. Scholz tweeted: “My thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones.”
Friday’s tragedy reverberated beyond Germany, with messages of solidarity pouring in from international leaders. Meanwhile, Bayern Munich’s CEO, Jan-Christian Dreesen, called for a moment of silence at the club’s stadium after a soccer match that evening.
The city, state, and nation now grapple with the aftermath of what officials have called one of the darkest moments in Magdeburg’s history.