A car was driven into a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg on the evening of Friday, December 20, 2024. Officials described the attack as deliberate. The driver was arrested at the scene.
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The car drove through a crowd of shoppers at the market, which was busy with people preparing for the weekend. Bystander footage distributed by the dpa news agency showed the driver being arrested at a tram stop. Police officers were filmed guarding the scene that night.
Casualties
On the night of the attack, officials reported at least two deaths and about 60 injured. By the next day, Saxony-Anhalt’s governor, Reiner Haseloff, said the death toll had risen to five and that more than 200 people had been injured, many seriously. Reuters reported that one of the dead was a young child.
The suspect
German officials identified the suspect as a 50-year-old Saudi doctor who had lived in Germany since 2006, and who had been practising medicine in Bernburg. Haseloff said authorities believed he acted alone. Reuters reported that a Saudi source had warned German authorities about him earlier. The motive and the investigation were still under way at the time of reporting.
Reaction
Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser visited Magdeburg on December 21. Faeser ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff at federal buildings. Several other German towns cancelled weekend Christmas markets as a precaution. Authorities across Germany and other European countries tightened security at Christmas markets.
Editor’s note: an earlier version of this article was general background about German Christmas markets with a short reference to the attack, and it gave no casualty figures. It has been rewritten to report the attack and the official figures available at the time.
Sources
- Reuters, Driver kills at least two after ramming into crowd at German Christmas market (20 December 2024): https://www.timesofisrael.com/driver-kills-at-least-two-after-ramming-into-crowd-at-german-christmas-market/amp/
- AP, Car slams into Christmas market in Germany killing, injuring people in suspected attack (20 December 2024): https://kmph.com/news/nation-world/car-drives-into-a-group-of-people-at-christmas-market-in-germany-magdeburg-saxony-anhalt
- AP via MyNews13, Car drives into Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany (21 December 2024), death toll and injury figures: https://mynews13.com/fl/orlando/international/2024/12/20/car-christmas-market-magdeburg-germany
- AP via Click Orlando, At least one dead and 50 injured after a car drove into a German Christmas market (20 December 2024): https://www.clickorlando.com/news/2024/12/20/at-least-one-dead-and-50-injured-after-a-german-christmas-market-official-says/