What we know about the attack:
- A car drove directly into a Christmas market in the centre of the eastern city of Magdeburg on Friday night
- Official figures confirm two dead, including a child, while local media reports suggest at least 11 victims
- Some 68 people have been injured according to government officials and the city government’s website
- The driver of the vehicle, who Saxony-Anhalt state premier Reiner Haseloff said is a 50-year-old Saudi Arabian national, was arrested at the scene just after 7pm local time
- ‘It was like a war zone’ one unnamed eyewitness told a local newspaper
From our Berlin-based correspondent Derek Scally:
Eyewitnesses say the BMW car raced directly into the open-air market, colliding with stands and sending dozens of people running for their lives.
The market was shut down by police and its organiser urged people to leave Magdeburg city centre.
Images circulating on social media showed police cars and ambulances at the scene, where it appeared at least half a dozen other injured people on the ground were being treated by other visitors to the market.
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Regional government spokesman Matthias Schuppe and city spokesman Michael Reif said they suspected it was an attack.
“This is a terrible event, particularly now in the days before Christmas,” Saxony-Anhalt governor Reiner Haseloff said.
Magdeburg, which is about 160km west of Berlin, is the capital of Saxony-Anhalt state and has about 240,000 residents.
German broadcaster MDR has reported that the suspected driver of the car was arrested, with police saying it was not yet clear whether the attacker had acted alone. – Reuters
A video posted on social media from a position above the market shows a car driving at speed through a crowd walking between two rows of market stalls. People can be seen knocked to the ground and running away. Reuters was able to verify the location, with the trees, outline and design of the buildings matching file and satellite imagery of the area. – Reuters
More from Derek Scally:
German media reported the driver was a 50-year-old Saudi Arabian national who had rented the car a short time before the attack. Police declined to comment on a possible motive for the attack, nor on reports that he had a rucksack with him in the car.
A local government spokesman described the incident as “possibly” a deliberate, terrorist attack.
“The images are simply terrible,” said government spokesman Michael Reif to German broadcaster MDR.
“It was like a war zone,” said one unnamed eyewitness to the local Mitteldeutsche Zeitung newspaper.
From Derek Scally:
On social media, German chancellor Olaf Scholz said the “pictures from Magdeburg bode ill, my thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones”.
As rescue crews continued to remove injured people from the scene on Friday evening, hospitals across the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt were readied for a large influx of injured.
German police union chief Rainer Wendt urged locals to stay away from the market.
“It’s important to let police do their work,” said Mr Wendt. “They are not just trying to save lives but also other measures that are time-consuming.”
Derek Scally reports:
The attack came a day after the anniversary of the Berlin Christmas market attack in 2016. Some 13 were killed and 70 people injured when an Islamist extremist drove an articulated lorry into a market in the western city centre.
Since that attack, the market has been protected from traffic by heavy concrete barriers. The driver of the Berlin lorry fled to Italy where he was later shot dead by local police.
Saxony-Anhalt state premier Reiner Haseloff has said that chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit Magdeburg on Saturday.
More images are coming through over our wires service from Magdeburg this evening.
From Derek Scally:
On Friday evening, security analysts in Berlin were quick to ask whether the lessons of Berlin attack had been learned in Magdeburg.
Security analyst Malte Roschinski said the videos showed a vehicle moving at high speed into the crowd “with no hindrance, gathering momentum as it moved”.
“Clearly there was not enough preparation from the organiser to think this through and block off certain axes,” he added, “so that, even if a car breaks through, that it couldn’t get 400m deep but just 50m.”
The suspect was not known to German authorities as an Islamic extremist, news agency dpa reported, citing security officials.
State governor Reiner Haseloff told reporters that the suspect is a 50-year-old Saudi doctor who first came to Germany in 2006. – AP
At least 68 people have been injured, including 15 who were hurt very seriously, according to government officials and the city government’s website.
It said 37 people had injuries of medium severity and 16 were lightly injured.
Magdeburg’s University Hospital said it was taking care of 10 to 20 patients but was preparing for more, dpa reported. – AP
Tánaiste Micheál Martin has issued a statement following tonight’s attack in Germany, advising Irish citizens in the area to follow the advice of local authorities.
“Shocked and appalled by the reports of the loss of life and injuries at the Christmas market in Magdeburg tonight.
“My thoughts and prayers go to the victims, their families, the emergency services and the German people.”
In a statement to The Irish Times late on Friday night, a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs said:
“The Department of Foreign Affairs is aware of this incident. The Department, including the Irish Embassy in Berlin, is monitoring the situation and stands ready to provide consular assistance.
“Irish citizens are advised to follow the advice of local authorities. Any Irish citizens who require consular assistance are advised to contact the Irish Embassy in Berlin on 0049-030-22 07 20.”
Reaction to the attack has begun to come in from other European leaders.
Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni said she was “deeply shocked by the brutal attack on the defenseless crowd at the Christmas market in Magdeburg”.
France’s president Emmanuel Macron posted on X that his country “shares the pain of the German people and expresses its full solidarity”.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said “this act of violence must be investigated and severely punished”.
More images from Magdeburg tonight.
That concludes our live coverage of tonight’s attack in Magdeburg.
Read our Berlin correspondent Derek Scally’s full report to catch up overnight.
