2 killed as car ploughs into Christmas market in Germany

At least two people, including a child, were killed and over 60 people were injured as a car drove into a crowd at a Christmas market in Germany’s Magdeburg on Friday.

German police have arrested a doctor from Saudi Arabia, who they say was driving the car.

The German Police suspect that the vehicle contained an explosive device, news agency Reuters reported, citing local broadcaster.

Police declined to cite the number of casualties, confirming only a large-scale operation at the market, Reuters reported.

A spokesperson for the local authority was quoted as saying that the incident could have been an attack.

“The initial assessment is that there was an attack on the Christmas market,” spokesperson Michael Reif was quoted as saying by German broadcaster MDR. He added that there were numerous casualties and police and rescue personnel were present at the site of the incident.

Reiner Haseloff, premier of the state of Saxony-Anhalt, where Magdeburg is the capital, was quoted as saying by Reuters that the suspected attacker, the doctor from Saudi Arabia, was acting alone.

“It’s a terrible tragedy. It is a catastrophe for the city of Magdeburg, for the state and for Germany in general,” Haseloff said.

Many police officers and emergency services were on site, and the market manager had told people to leave the city centre, MDR said.

Eyewitnesses told the broadcaster that the car drove straight into the crowd at the market, in the direction of the town hall.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed concern over the incident. He will

“The reports from Magdeburg suggest something bad is about to happen. My thoughts are with the victims and their families. We stand by their side and by the side of the people of Magdeburg. My thanks go to the dedicated rescue workers in these anxious hours,” he said in a post on X.

Eight years ago, a truck driven by Anis Amri, a failed Tunisian asylum seeker with Islamist links, crashed into a crowded Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring dozens of others.