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22-12-2024
BERLIN: Five people have been killed, including a child, and more than 200 injured after a car drove into a crowd at a Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg, officials say.
Many people were critically injured, Reiner Haseloff, the premier of Saxony-Anhalt state, told reporters on Saturday. German media reported 41 critical injuries.
Haseloff told reporters on Friday that the suspect – who was arrested was a 50-year-old Saudi citizen who arrived in Germany in 2006 and had worked as a doctor.
He said a preliminary investigation suggested the alleged attacker was acting as a lone wolf. He could not rule out further deaths due to the number of injured.
The suspected attacker’s motive is unclear, and he has no known links to Islamist extremism social media and posts online appear to suggest he had been critical of Islam.
Footage from the scene shows numerous emergency services vehicles attending while people lay on the ground.
Further footage then emerged of armed police confronting and arresting a man who can be seen lying on the ground by a stationary vehicle.
Unverified video on social media purports to show a car ploughing into the crowd at the market.
City officials said around 100 police, medics and firefighters, as well as 50 rescue service personnel rushed to the scene.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who travelled to the city on Saturday, described the attack as a “dreadful tragedy” as “so many people were injured and killed with such brutality” in a place that is supposed to be “joyful”.
He told reporters that there were serious concerns for those who had been critically injured which German media reports is in the dozens and that “all resources” will be allocated to investigating the suspect behind the attack.
There would be a memorial service for the victims at the Magdeburg Cathedral later on Saturday, he added.
In an interview with German paper Bild, Nadine, described being at the Christmas market with her boyfriend, Marco, when the car came speeding towards them.
“He was hit and pulled away from my side,” the 32-year-old told the paper. “It was terrible.”
Meanwhile, Lars Frohmüller, a reporter for German public broadcaster MDR, told media he saw “blood on the floor” as well as “many doctors trying to keep people warm and help them with their injuries”.
German media identified the suspect as Taleb A, a psychiatrist who lives in Bernburg, around 40km (25 miles) south of Magdeburg.
Originally from Saudi Arabia, he arrived in Germany in 2006 and in 2016 was recognized as a refugee.
He ran a website that aimed to help other former Muslims flee persecution in their Gulf homelands.
Evidenced by social media posts, the suspect is an outspoken critic of Islam, and has promoted conspiracy theories regarding a plot to seek Islamic supremacy in Europe.
When the incident occurred, Magdeburg’s football team were playing against Fortuna Dusseldorf.
After the game finished, the team’s players united in a line in front of their supporters. A statement from the club said its “thoughts are with those affected by the terrible events and the Magdeburg Christmas market”.
Meanwhile, a minute’s silence was held at the end of a match between Bayern and RB Leipzig in Munich. (Int’l News Desk)
