Magdeburg Christmas market ‘terror attack’: Two dead & 60 hurt as car ‘carrying bomb’ smashes into shoppers

A car crashed into shoppers at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, in a terrorist attack that has left multiple people dead, including a small child, and between 60-80 injured, with 15 injured ‘seriously.’

Magdeburg’s city website currently states there are two fatalities with 68 people injured. Of those, 15 people are reported to be in a “serious” condition, with a further 37 moderately injured and 16 with minor injuries.

A city official confirmed one of the victims was a child and the other an adult.

A dark BMW car crashed into the market in Magdeburg, in east Germany, around 7:04 p.m. local time, plowing through the market’s protective barriers and mowing down a row of booths crowded by people before stopping short of the town hall.

Dramatic video revealed the moment armed police arrested the suspect. In the clip, two officers pointed their guns at a black vehicle before others arrived in a police van and rushed to apprehend the suspect.

The driver was reportedly a 50-year-old man from Saudi Arabia, according to the Die Welt newspaper.

Police also claimed the driver had a number of suitcases with him and have shut down the area to search for any explosive materials.

BBC added that the driver, still unnamed, arrived in Germany in 2006 and was living in Germany as a doctor. State leader Tamara Zieschang told the press that the suspect allegedly used a rental car with a Munich number plate. He said that the man was working for a company in Magdeburg.

Tents have been set up around the site to care for the wounded, while 10-20 others were transported to Magdeburg University Hospital for emergency treatment.

City spokesman Reif told MDR it was still too early to give exact figures. “I estimate there are at least 20 ambulances here, a lot of firefighters, and I can see the police helicopter circling in the sky.”

As authorities survey the scene, media is getting multiple conflicting reports: “at least two people have now been confirmed dead, including a small child,” said Reiner Haseloff, Saxony-Anhalt’s prime minister. German newspaper BILD is reporting 11 fatalities and as many as 60 to 80 people injured.

German newspaper Mitteldeutsche Zeitung reports that witnesses described the scene as having “war-like conditions” as rescuers pull injured individuals into ambulances and medical tents.

One woman said she was able to jump out of the way of the speeding vehicle while holding onto her young child as they wandered the ‘Fairy Tale’ area of the market.

Unconfirmed reports said a car hit several people before the driver turned onto the market square close to the site of a former McDonald’s restaurant.

Another eyewitness, 32-year-old Nadine, who was at the Christmas market has described experience to Bild newspaper, saying she was seperated from her boyfriend Marco when the car came speeding towards them.

“He was hit and pulled away from my side. It was terrible.” Her boyfriend apparently sustained head and leg injuries. “The uncertainty is unbearable,” she adds, as she doesn’t yet know which hospital her partner has gone to.

Magdeburg Police said in a statement shared on X/ Twitter: “Extensive police operations are currently taking place at the Magdeburg Christmas market. The Christmas market in the city center is closed. Further reports will be made.”

A new photograph shows the deserted Christmas market strewn with debris after tonight’s suspected car ramming attack.

Another clip taken at the scene showed people assisting an injured person on the ground. An unconfirmed video appeared to show a black car mowing down people at a Christmas market. Several people were struck with many remaining on the ground after being struck.

“This is a terrible event, especially now in the days before Christmas,” Reiner Haseloff, Saxony-Anhalt’s prime minister, said, adding that he was going to the Magdeburg Christmas market himself, which police have now sealed off.

“From what we currently know he was a lone attacker so we don’t think there is any further danger for the city,” Haseloff added.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised to visit the region on Saturday.

Police have since cordoned off the Magdeburg city center and have advised people to avoid the area. It is unclear how many people have been injured or whether there are any confirmed fatalities.

Photos taken at the scene showed firefighters at the scene of the crash with the area being cordoned off. Several ambulances were also seen nearby.

The Mirror has contacted Magdeburg Police for comment.

Videos circulating social media show a large police response as crowds of shocked shoppers survey the damage. Many individuals can be seen lying on the ground, some unconscious, others showing signs of trying to get up.

The car was driven “at least 400 meters across the Christmas market” into the crowd, a police spokesman said, which is about 0.2 miles.

Matthias Schuppe and city spokesperson Michael Reif said they suspected it was a deliberate act. Reif said there were “numerous injured” but didn’t give a precise figure.

“The pictures are terrible,” he said. “My information is that a car drove into the Christmas market visitors, but I can’t yet say from what direction and how far.”

The suspected attack came a day after the eighth anniversary of an attack on a Christmas market in Berlin. On Dec. 19, 2016, an Islamic extremist attacker plowed through a crowd of Christmas market-goers with a truck, leaving 13 people dead and injuring dozens more. The attacker was killed days later in a shootout in Italy.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser had said late last month that there were no concrete indications of a danger to Christmas markets this year, but that it was wise to be vigilant.

However, on December 6, German authorities apprehended a 37-year-old Iraqi man, known as ‘Ali Al-G., ‘who was allegedly plotting an attack on a Bavarian Christmas market, according to reports from German media.

The arrest was made following a lead from international intelligence, as reported by Politico. The suspect is said to have “expressed admiration for the Islamic State terrorist organization online,” a source disclosed to the German news outlet, Welt. He is currently awaiting deportation.

So far, German authorities said they had no warnings that the attack was coming and that the Saudi man arrested for today’s Magdeburg attack ‘was not on a radar’ for having Islamist ties.

Source » msn.com