After the attack on the Magdeburg Christmas market, with at least two dead and many dozens of injured, there is mourning and dismay. Reports of up to eleven fatalities were initially not officially confirmed.
In the evening, around 7:19 pm, a black BMW SUV crashed into the Christmas market in Magdeburg, with the authorities assuming it was an attack. The suspected driver was arrested near the Christmas market. He allegedly used a gap between the concrete blocks, drove in a zigzag course, and covered a total of 400 meters on the market. The local circumstances also require that the driver must have taken a sharp curve and accelerated again before driving into the crowd.
It is believed to be a man born in 1974 from Saudi Arabia, who was not previously known to the police. According to reports, he has been in Germany since 2006 and allegedly practiced as a doctor in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, as stated by Saxony-Anhalt’s Minister-President Reiner Haseloff (CDU). According to informed circles, the man allegedly rented the vehicle before steering it onto the Christmas market.
A suspicious piece of luggage was found on the back seat, with the contents unknown, and it is unclear whether a bomb might have been inside. The authorities have not ruled out this scenario. The police are also investigating whether the driver acted alone or if there might be accomplices or informants.
“Briefings from Magdeburg suggest something terrible” wrote Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) in social media. The Chancellor is likely to visit Magdeburg on Saturday, along with Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) and Haseloff (CDU), to visit the crime scene.