Germany Christmas market attack: Scholz condemns ‘terrible, insane’ act as five killed and hundreds injured – latest

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The day so far

  • Five people, including a child, have died after a car ploughed into a crowd of people at a Christmas market in the eastern German town of Magdeburg, in what local officials are describing as a terror attack.

  • More then 200 people were injured in the attack, with 40 in critical condition.

  • Police have arrested a 50-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia who they believe is responsible for the attack, according to the German state premier, Reiner Haseloff.

  • A Saudi source told Reuters that Saudi Arabia had warned German authorities about the attacker after he posted extremist views on his personal X account that threatened peace and security. Der Spiegel reported that the suspect had sympathised with the AfD. The magazine did not say where it got the information.

  • Chancellor Olaf Scholz described the deadly attack in Magdeburg as a “terrible, insane act”. He said there is “no place more peaceful and cheerful than a Christmas market,” where people go with friends and family to enjoy a gluhwein (hot punch) and seek some contemplation and joy.

  • Leader of Saxony Anhalt state Reiner Haseloff describes the scene as “an unimaginable incident”. Haselhof says the scale of the attack is much bigger than previously thought, with the death toll having risen and the extent of those injured much larger than the estimates given last night.

  • A woman in her 50s with a bad bruise to her right eye, has told the tabloid Bild how she and her husband were “flung in the air” in the attack. She was initially unconscious, her husband suffered injuries to his upper thigh and described how the “flesh was ripped out” of it in the impact.

  • Mourners lit candles and placed flowers outside a church near the market on the cold and gloomy day. Several people stopped and cried. A Berlin church choir whose members witnessed a previous Christmas market attack in 2016 sang Amazing Grace, a hymn about God’s mercy, offering their prayers and solidarity with the victims.

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Key events

Pope Francis has sent a message of support to German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier following yesterday’s attack in Magdeburg.

In the message, released by the Vatican, the Pope said he was “shocked by the news of the attack”.

He added he “thanks all those who are working and supporting the victims in this difficult time”.

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Andrea Reis, 57, earlier arrived at the nearby Magdeburg Cathedral with her daughter Julia, 34, to pay their respects.

It was only because her daughter wanted them to keep walking round the market rather than stop to eat that they were not in the path of the car that ploughed through the market, she said.

“It was the terrible sounds, children calling ‘mama, papa,’, ‘help me’ – they’re going round in my head now,” Reis told Reuters.

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Far-right demonstrators take part in a protest in Magdeburg after a car drove into a crowd at a Christmas market. Photograph: Christian Mang/Reuters
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People attend an ecumenical memorial service in the Magdeburg Cathedral. According to Saxony-Anhalt State Premier Reiner Haseloff, five people are confirmed dead and at least 200 were injured, after a car was driven into a crowd at Magdeburg’s Christmas market. Photograph: Filip Singer/EPA
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Firefighters attend an ecumenical memorial service in Magdeburg Cathedral following a vehicle-ramming attack on the Christmas market, in Magdeburg, Germany. Photograph: Filip Singer/EPA
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A memorial service has started in Magdeburg Cathedral with German chancellor Olaf Scholz and interior minister Nancy Faeser among the mourners along with German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

The cathedral is near the scene of Friday evening’s attack at a Christmas market which has left at least five people dead and more than 200 injured.

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Updated at 

Magdeburg city official Ronni Krug said that 41 of the hundreds of people injured had either serious or critical injuries.

“I don’t know about you, but I associate the Christmas market with mulled wine and bratwurst, and yesterday [Friday] people died in this area. Others are fighting for their lives,” Krug said.

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Updated at 

Participants in a silent prayer stand with candles in the Cathedral Square Magdeburg, Germany. Photograph: Sebastian Kahnert/AP
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Players observe a minute of silence for the victims of the attack in Magdeburg prior to the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and SC Freiburg in Leverkusen, Germany. Photograph: Christopher Neundorf/EPA
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US president Joe Biden said his team has been “in close touch” with German officials on Saturday following the Christmas market attack and “stands ready” to offer all available resources and assistance if needed, Reuters reports.

“The United States extends our deepest condolences to the people of Germany grieving the terrible attack at a Christmas market yesterday in Magdeburg, Germany,” the US president said in a statement.

“No community – and no family – should have to endure such a despicable and dark event, especially just days before a holiday of joy and peace.

“While this situation remains under investigation, make no mistake: the United States will always stand with our allies against violent terror.

“In the coming days, we will keep all those injured or killed—and their beloved families—close in our hearts.”

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Updated at 

German officials said emergency services received their first call about the attack at 7.02pm local time on Friday (6.02pm UK time).

They said the situation was brought under control by 7.05pm and the suspect was then arrested.

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People lay flowers at a makeshift memorial near the Christmas market the day after a terror attack that has left five people dead, including a small child, and over 200 injured in Magdeburg, Germany. Photograph: Omer Messinger/Getty Images
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Toys, candles and flowers lie at the official mourning site in front of St. John’s Church to pay their respects following a vehicle-ramming attack on the Christmas market, in Magdeburg, Germany. Five people are confirmed dead and at least 200 were injured. Photograph: Filip Singer/EPA
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People pay tribute outside St. John’s Church near the Christmas Market where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening, in Magdeburg, Germany. Photograph: Ebrahim Noorozi/AP
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The day so far

  • Five people, including a child, have died after a car ploughed into a crowd of people at a Christmas market in the eastern German town of Magdeburg, in what local officials are describing as a terror attack.

  • More then 200 people were injured in the attack, with 40 in critical condition.

  • Police have arrested a 50-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia who they believe is responsible for the attack, according to the German state premier, Reiner Haseloff.

  • A Saudi source told Reuters that Saudi Arabia had warned German authorities about the attacker after he posted extremist views on his personal X account that threatened peace and security. Der Spiegel reported that the suspect had sympathised with the AfD. The magazine did not say where it got the information.

  • Chancellor Olaf Scholz described the deadly attack in Magdeburg as a “terrible, insane act”. He said there is “no place more peaceful and cheerful than a Christmas market,” where people go with friends and family to enjoy a gluhwein (hot punch) and seek some contemplation and joy.

  • Leader of Saxony Anhalt state Reiner Haseloff describes the scene as “an unimaginable incident”. Haselhof says the scale of the attack is much bigger than previously thought, with the death toll having risen and the extent of those injured much larger than the estimates given last night.

  • A woman in her 50s with a bad bruise to her right eye, has told the tabloid Bild how she and her husband were “flung in the air” in the attack. She was initially unconscious, her husband suffered injuries to his upper thigh and described how the “flesh was ripped out” of it in the impact.

  • Mourners lit candles and placed flowers outside a church near the market on the cold and gloomy day. Several people stopped and cried. A Berlin church choir whose members witnessed a previous Christmas market attack in 2016 sang Amazing Grace, a hymn about God’s mercy, offering their prayers and solidarity with the victims.

Share

Child, 9, among five killed in Christmas market attack

A nine-year-old was among the five people killed in the Christmas market attack in the German city of Magdeburg, an official said Saturday.

City official Ronni Krug said he didn’t have further information on the adults who were killed. He said there were a total of 205 victims, including the five dead. He said that 41 people were seriously or very seriously injured.

Prosecutor Horst Nopens said the suspect, a 50-year-old Saudi doctor, is under investigation on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and bodily harm. He is being questioned.

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Prosecutors expect to charge the suspected driver in a car-ramming at a Christmas market in Germany with murder and attempted murder, the head of the local prosecutor’s office said on Saturday.

The motive for the attack remains unclear but the suspect’s dissatisfaction with Germany’s treatment of Saudi refugees may have played a role, the prosecutor in the central city of Magdeburg told a press conference following Friday’s attack, in which five people were killed and more than 200 were injured.

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