A car crashed through a busy Christmas market in eastern Germany on Friday, killing at least two people and injuring over 60 more. According to a local official, the accused driver—a Saudi Arabian doctor who resided in Germany—was taken into custody.
There was no continuous danger to the public, and the suspect acted alone. Because of the severity of some of the injuries, the official did not rule out more deaths.
According to the official, one adult and one child are among the victims.
A vehicle was seen rushing past a sizable crowd of shoppers in a brief video of the incident that was geolocated to the eastern German city of Magdeburg and posted on X. While others rush to safety, several are run over. Before turning right out of the camera’s line of sight, the car sprints straight ahead.
According to Reuters, a Magdeburg city official referred to the occurrence as a “attack.” According to the representative, local hospitals were getting ready for a major casualty incident.
“The Magdeburg Christmas market is currently the scene of intense police operations. “The city center’s Christmas market is closed,” the police posted on X. In order for those impacted to get in touch with their family, police also established a hotline.
Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, forewarned of a challenging future.
Scholz wrote, “My thoughts are with the victims and their families,” in a message across X. “We support the Magdeburg community and stand by them. I want to express my gratitude to the hardworking rescuers during these stressful times.
In a post on X, Germany’s vice chancellor Robert Habeck bemoaned the event and called it “dreadful news.”
A vehicle crashed into a Berlin Christmas market in 2016, killing at least 12 people and injured dozens more in a disturbingly identical occurrence.
As a precaution and in reaction to the event in Germany, police in New York City have stepped up security at holiday markets, a senior NYPD official told NBC News on Friday.
More resources will be dispatched to various festive markets and prominent sites throughout the city. According to the official, there has been no specific local threat, but there have been threats to some markets abroad.
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