Andorra la VellaNightmare Before Christmas a Germany. At least two people were killed and around 60 injured in a multiple-car crash late last night at a Christmas street market in the center of Magdeburg, capital of the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt.
One of the dead would be an adult and the other a small child, as confirmed by the Minister President of Saxony-Anhalt, Reiner Haseloff, in statements to the press. He stated that more deaths cannot be ruled out, considering that there are several seriously injured. The injured were taken to nearby hospitals.
However, the number of dead and injured is feared to be even higher given that the street market, five days before Christmas, was very busy when the incident occurred. The German press claims that there could be up to 80 injured.
“My thoughts are with the victims and their families. We stand by them and by the people of Magdeburg. My thanks to the selfless rescuers in these distressing hours,” wrote the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, shortly after the multiple hit-and-run. The chancellor is expected to travel to Magdeburg today to learn first-hand the details of the investigation and show his support for the city at this difficult time.
“This is a terrible tragedy. It is a catastrophe for the city of Magdeburg, for the federal state and for Germany in general,” said the minister president of Saxony-Anhalt, who added that the perpetrator of the multiple hit-and-run appears to have acted alone, so there would be no more danger to the inhabitants of Magdeburg.
According to the spokesman of the government of Saxony-Anhalt, Matthias Schuppe, it is “probably an attack”. The municipal spokesman, Marcel Reif, also said that, at first sight, the action was an attack.
The driver was arrested immediately after the collision. According to German authorities, he is a 50-year-old man from Saudi Arabia who allegedly arrived in Germany in 2006 and worked as a doctor in Saxony-Anhalt. At the moment, the reasons for this incident are not known.
According to the magazine Der Spiegel, the driver’s name is Taleb. A. He is a doctor specializing in psychiatry. According to this German magazine, the driver would not have so far attracted the attention of the authorities for having extremist ideas. The German authorities have not yet confirmed this information.
The multiple hit-and-run happened around 7:04 p.m., according to the newspaper Bildwhen a dark-colored BMW ran over pedestrians visiting the Christmas street market without stopping. According to several eyewitnesses, the car headed straight for the crowd in the direction of the city hall of this town.
According to the police, quoted by the German press, the vehicle plowed into the crowd “along at least 400 meters inside the market”. Security measures around Christmas street markets have been tightened in Germany in recent years, particularly following a similar attack in Berlin in 2016.
On December 19 of that year, the Islamist terrorist Anis Amri killed 12 people with a truck and injured 56 more at a Christmas market next to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, better known as the Church of Remembrance , in Berlin. This church, which was destroyed during the Second World War, has been preserved as a memorial.e