Car slams into Christmas market in Germany, In any event, at least two people - including a child - and injured 68 others, including several children, were run over by a car, which plowed through the crowded Christmas market in Magdeburg, central Germany on Friday evening.
The government declared the incident as a deliberate attack. The man behind the wheel reported as a 50-year-old Saudi doctor, was seized at the scene.
The awful accident happened about 7:00 pm local time or 18:00 GMT since the vehicle crashed into the already bustling market causing absolute havoc. Of those hurt, 15 continue to be in a bad state of condition, and 37 have moderate injuries. In this regard, others who received light injuries tally at 16, according to reports by the local authorities.
Chancellor Scholz pays condolences
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, in his words, "Reports from Magdeburg indicate something terrible has occurred. My thoughts are with the victims and their families," said he would visit the site on Saturday to stand in support of the people of the city.
"We stand by the people of Magdeburg. My thanks go to the dedicated rescue workers in these anxious hours," Scholz wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Interior minister of Saxony-Anhalt Tamara Zieschang said the suspect was identified as a 50-year-old Saudi Arabian doctor who had been in Germany since 2006.
The man never appeared on security services' lists, said the authorities.
READ MORE: Germany terror attack: Two dead after car plows into
The state Premier of Saxony-Anhalt, Reiner Haseloff, said the victims include a child and an adult, terming the incident a terrible tragedy and one life too many. He said the attacker was working alone and reassured the public that there was no ongoing threat to the city.
Germany terror attack
A car drove into the crowd visiting a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, on Friday, leaving at least two dead and almost 70 people injured, according to German officials.
German authorities are treating the incident as terrorism, U.S. law enforcement sources told ABC News.
A young child and an adult were killed in the attack, according to Saxony-Anhalt Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff.
Of the wounded, at least 15 were seriously injured, the local official said.
Others are still coming into the hospital, a German security official said. A suspect has been arrested in the attack that sent shoppers fleeing in panic, U.S. sources said.
Haseloff said that the suspect is a doctor from Saudi Arabia who is about 50 years old and has lived in Germany since 2006. Haseloff added that a rental car was used in the attack.
The motive is unknown at this time, U.S. sources said. A view of the cordoned-off Christmas market after a driver drove into a group of people in Magdeburg, Germany, Dec. 20, 2024.
Heiko Rebsch/Dpa/Picture Alliance via Getty Images
Berlin Christmas market attack
Scores of people were injured and at least two people, including a small child, were killed on Friday after a car plowed into a crowd of people at a Christmas market in the eastern German town of Magdeburg, in what local officials are describing as a terror attack.
At least 68 other people were injured, including 15 who were left in a critical state, according to the city government.
A black BMW drove straight into the crowd at the Christmas market in the attack, eyewitnesses cited by the broadcaster said, traveling at speed for 400 meters in the direction of the town hall.
Videos posted on social media showed a dark-colored car driving at high speed into crowds. Several media outlets showed the videos in their coverage, but the authenticity of the footage has yet to be officially confirmed.
At the scene, rescue workers were also seen treating victims on the ground at the market as blood stained the ground amid makeshift tents. The onlookers said they could hear cries and screams from the spot. A food stall operator on the market characterized the scenes as "reminiscent of a war."
This is a terrible event, particularly now in the days before Christmas, when Saxony-Anhalt's leader Reiner Haseloff, was en route to Magdeburg.
Immediately arresting the driver of the car, he was later identified as 50-year-old medical doctor Taleb A. from Saudi Arabia. Haseloff said the man had been living in Germany since 2006. The suspect was a consultant for psychiatry and psychotherapy and had been recognized as a refugee in 2016.
One video from the scene shows the alleged perpetrator lying on the ground, his head raised, next to a badly damaged black car. A policeman meters from him is pointing a drawn weapon in his direction as passersby look on aghast.
car slams into a christmas market in Germany,
At least two people are dead and as many as 68 injured after a car rammed into a crowded Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg, the capital of the central German state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Officials on Friday night described the incident as an intentional attack and announced that the driver had been taken into custody at the scene. An investigation is underway.
Among many others, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had also expressed his condolences in the immediate aftermath of the incident. His office said he would visit the site on Saturday.
"The reports from Magdeburg suggest something terrible has happened. My thoughts are with the victims and their families," Scholz wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"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."
The interior minister for Saxony-Anhalt, Tamara Zieschang, identified the suspect as a 50-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia who arrived in Germany in 2006. He was previously unknown to security services.
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