At Least 2 Dead, 60 Injured After Car "Attack" On German Christmas Market, Saudi Driver Arrested

Watch Live UK News

Summary:

• At least 2 dead

• At least 60 injured

• The suspect is a 50-year-old Saudi doctor who first came to Germany in 2006

• Suspect has been arrested.

• "Lone perpetrator"

*   *   *

Update (1650ET): AP reports that at least two people are dead and at least 60 injured in what authorities suspect was an attack.

The driver of the car was arrested shortly after the car barreled into the market at around 7 p.m., when it was busy with holiday shoppers looking forward to the weekend.

MORE - Arrest of the Saudi Arabian man who carried out the terrorist attack on the German Christmas market.pic.twitter.com/69yapDcMAu

— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) December 20, 2024

The suspect is a 50-year-old Saudi doctor who first came to Germany in 2006, Saxony-Anhalt’s interior minister, Tamara Zieschang, said at a news conference.

 “As things stand, he is a lone perpetrator, so that as far as we know there is no further danger to the city," Saxony-Anhalt's governor, Reiner Haseloff, told reporters.

Fifteen of the injured were were hurt very seriously, according to government officials and the city government’s website.

Haseloff said the two people who were confirmed to have died were an adult and a toddler, but that he couldn’t rule out further deaths.

“But that is speculation now. Every human life that has fallen victim to this attack is a terrible tragedy and one human life too many,” he said.

Magdeburg’s University Hospital said it was taking care of 10 to 20 patients but was preparing for more, dpa reported.

*  *  *

Update (1534ET): Government spokesman Matthias Schuppe told German media outlet WELT that the car-ramming incident at a Christmas market in Magdeburg "was an attack." City spokesman Michael Reif stated that initial reports suggested it was an "attack on the Christmas market."

WELT reported that the suspected perpetrator is in police custody. Security sources told the outlet that the male driver is of Saudi Arabian origin and was born in 1974.

Elon Musk called for the resignation of Chancellor Olaf Scholz: "Scholz should resign immediately. Incompetent fool." 

Scholz should resign immediately. Incompetent fool.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 20, 2024

*   *   *

Update (1456ET):

AFP News reports that 60 to 80 people were injured when a car rammed through a Christmas market in Germany. There is no official word regarding fatalities.

Reportedly the footage of the arrest. https://t.co/uVrKGIq5zu pic.twitter.com/brBhSMD19V

— Clash Report (@clashreport) December 20, 2024

*   *   *

Update (1440ET):

There are a lot of casualty numbers being thrown out on X. 

According to German news outlet MDR News:

"At least one person is dead and several people are injured. A large number of rescue workers are deployed. The suspected driver of the car has been arrested. An overview of the latest developments." 

Overview of the Christmas market:

Shocking video...

JUST IN: At least one car plows through a large crowd of people at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany.

The driver of the car was arrested.

Local reports say that many people are injured. It's unclear how many have d*ed.

"A vehicle drove through the Christmas market… pic.twitter.com/UY6jsA5n0L

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 20, 2024

*   *   *

Panic erupted at a popular Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, on Friday evening after a vehicle plowed through the market. Details remain scant, but such incidents have become all too familiar around Christian holidays, often involving vehicle or knife attacks.

"A state of emergency currently prevails at the Magdeburg Christmas market. According to eyewitnesses, numerous people fled the market area in panic. A vehicle is said to have driven into the crowd," Epoch Times Deutsche reported.

Auf dem Magdeburger Weihnachtsmarkt herrscht derzeit Ausnahmezustand. Wie Augenzeugen berichten, flüchteten zahlreiche Menschen panisch vom Marktgelände. Ein Fahrzeug soll in die Menge gefahren sein. pic.twitter.com/HvZgLhtAio

— Epoch Times Deutsch (@EpochTimesDE) December 20, 2024

Unverified footage on X published moments ago shows what appears to be a number of causalities...

Es ist eine Katastrophe... Wurde mir gerade zugeschickt. #Magdeburg pic.twitter.com/5lFVPx5xKP

— koerner_23 (@koerner_23) December 20, 2024

#Magdeburg #Weihnachtsmarkt pic.twitter.com/YVkNJX1WkA

— Anabel Schunke (@ainyrockstar) December 20, 2024

Naomi Seibt, a German teen who has a prominent voice on X and denounces mass migration in Europe, asked if this incident was "terrorism"?

"Islamists have been sending explicit threats that they will attack our Christmas markets via immigrants. The police already prevented several attempts last minute," Seibt, adding, "Elon Musk is right: Only the AfD can save Germany." 

🚨🇩🇪TERR0RISM⁉️ CAR DRIVES INTO MAGDEBURG CHRISTMAS MARKET!

Islamists have been sending explicit threats that they will attack our Christmas markets via immigrants.
The police already prevented several attempts last minute.

Elon Musk is right:

Only the AfD can save Germany. https://t.co/REfNC9TGD5 pic.twitter.com/SthsstP1q7

— Naomi Seibt (@SeibtNaomi) December 20, 2024

"I can't believe it was an accident, it's a pedestrian zone & cars never drive there, and the car probably got there," another X user said. 

On Dec. 19, 2016, in Berlin, an Islamic extremist attacker plowed into a Christmas market with a truck, leaving 13 people dead and dozens injured. 

This aged well...

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser had said late last month that there were no concrete indications of a danger to Christmas markets this year, but that it was wise to be vigilant.-AP News

*Developing...