German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) arrived in Magdeburg on Saturday morning to visit the site of the attack from the previous day, accompanied by Saxony-Anhalt’s Minister-President Reiner Haseloff (CDU) and, among others, Federal Ministers Volker Wissing (independent), Steffi Lemke (Greens), and CDU chief Friedrich Merz. Together, they visited the cordoned-off Magdeburg Christmas market.
The previous day, a 50-year-old man had driven a BMW SUV into the crowd and killed at least four people, with over 200 injured, including 41 severely injured and 86 with other serious injuries. The death toll is feared to rise further.
Haseloff had welcomed the Chancellor’s visit just a few hours after the attack at an impromptu press conference, and demanded political consequences. The background of the attack remains unclear. The suspect is from Saudi Arabia, but is apparently not an Islamist, but rather an Islam-hater. He was last active as a doctor in Bernburg.