A car-ramming attack Friday night at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, left five dead and over 200 injured, including dozens in critical condition.
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The driver of the car, a 50-year-old Saudi doctor who moved to Germany in 2006, has been arrested and is now in custody for questioning, per CBS News. According to a statement from Magdeburg police, their preliminary assessment suggests the man, who held indefinite residency and work authorization in Germany, acted as a “lone perpetrator.”
The driver had no criminal record, and authorities said the motive is still unknown. Investigators have cordoned off the area around the vehicle.
SHOCKING FOOTAGE– VEHICLE RAMS FULL SPEED INTO CROWD AT A CHRISTMAS MARKET IN MAGDEBURG, GERMANY. REPORTS OF 11 DEAD AND AT LEAST 60 INJURED.
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) December 20, 2024
PLEASE PRAY FOR THE VICTIMS 🙏 pic.twitter.com/iORhKYxf5p
German media report that the suspect has been identified as Taleb A. His full name was withheld due to privacy laws. Reports describe him as a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy. He practiced medicine in Bernburg, a town located roughly 25 miles south of Magdeburg.
Reiner Haseloff, the state premier of Saxony-Anhalt, characterized the incident as “a lone attack.” Speaking on Saturday, he confirmed the death toll had risen from two to five, with over 200 people injured.
Haseloff also called the attack “astonishing, unimaginable that something like this could happen in Germany.”
An Eyewitness Recount the Arrest of the Suspect of the Christmas Market Attack in Germany
Meanwhile, bystander footage captured the suspect’s arrest at a tram stop located in the center of the roadway.
The arrest of the attacker who drove into a Christmas market crowd in Magdeburg, Germany. pic.twitter.com/ZYhRROI8SP
— Clash Report (@clashreport) December 20, 2024
“It was a real chaotic situation,” Lars FrohmĂĽller, a reporter for German outlet MDR, told the BBC.
“We saw blood on the floor. We saw people sitting beside each other … and we saw many doctors trying to keep people warm and help them with their injuries,” he added.
“Everywhere were ambulances, there were police, there were a lot of firefighters.”
Sirens from first responders pierced through the festive atmosphere of the market, where holiday decorations—ornaments, stars, and leafy garlands—adorned the vendors’ booths. Footage also showed part of the market cordoned off, with debris scattered on the ground.
“This is a terrible event, particularly now in the days before Christmas,” state premier Haseloff said.
“My thoughts are with the victims and their relatives. We stand beside them and beside the people of Magdeburg,” the Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz, wrote on X.
Magdeburg, west of Berlin, is the capital of Saxony-Anhalt with about 240,000 residents.
Meanwhile, in response to the incident, the New York Police Department announced it had deployed extra resources to Christmas markets and other key locations across the city “out of an abundance of caution.”
We are closely monitoring recent events in Germany and coordinating with our partners. While we have not identified any specific or credible threats to NYC at this time, resources have been deployed to various Christmas markets and other locations out of an abundance of caution. pic.twitter.com/qL1qg6Kzfd
— NYPDCounterterrorism (@NYPDCT) December 20, 2024
However, the department clarified that no specific or credible threats had been identified.