BERLIN (AP) — A car plowed into a engaged outdoor Christmas marketplace successful nan eastbound German metropolis of Magdeburg connected Friday, leaving astatine slightest 1 personification dormant and injuring astatine slightest 50 others successful what authorities fishy was an attack.
The driver of nan car was arrested, German news agency dpa reported, citing unidentified authorities officials successful nan authorities of Saxony-Anhalt. The fishy was not known to German authorities arsenic an Islamic extremist, dpa reported, citing unidentified information officials. He is believed to beryllium astir 50 years aged and to person travel from Saudi Arabia.
Regional authorities spokesperson Matthias Schuppe and metropolis spokesperson Michael Reif said they suspected it was a deliberate act.
“The pictures are terrible,” Reif said. “My accusation is that a car drove into nan Christmas marketplace visitors, but I can’t yet opportunity from what guidance and really far.”
Magdeburg’s University Hospital said it was taking attraction of 10 to 20 patients but was preparing for more, dpa reported.
The sounds of sirens from first responders fought pinch nan market’s vacation decorations, including ornaments, stars and leafy garland festooning nan vendors’ booths.
Debris could beryllium seen connected nan crushed successful footage of a cordoned-off portion of nan market.
The car drove into nan marketplace astatine astir 7 p.m., erstwhile it was engaged pinch vacation shoppers looking guardant to nan weekend.
“This is simply a unspeakable event, peculiarly now successful nan days earlier Christmas,” Saxony-Anhalt politician Reiner Haseloff said. Haseloff told dpa that he was connected his measurement to Magdeburg but couldn’t instantly springiness immoderate accusation connected victims aliases what was down nan incident.
Chancellor OIaf Scholz posted connected X: “My thoughts are pinch nan victims and their relatives. We guidelines beside them and beside nan group of Magdeburg.”
Magdeburg, which is westbound of Berlin, is nan authorities superior of Saxony-Anhalt and has astir 240,000 residents.
The suspected onslaught came 8 years aft an onslaught connected a Christmas marketplace successful Berlin. On Dec. 19, 2016, an Islamic extremist plowed done a crowded Christmas pinch a truck, sidesplitting 13 group and injuring dozens more. The attacker was killed days later successful a shootout successful Italy.
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Christmas markets are a immense portion of German civilization arsenic an yearly vacation contented cherished since nan Middle Ages and successfully exported to overmuch of nan Western world. In Berlin alone, much than 100 markets opened precocious past period and brought nan smells of mulled wine, roasted almonds and bratwurst to nan capital. Other markets abound crossed nan country.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said precocious past period that location were nary actual indications of a threat to Christmas markets this year, but that it was wise to beryllium vigilant.