The attack happened just after 7pm in the evening. Eyewitnesses state that a car drove straight into the crowd in the direction of the city hall and that people ran away in panic. To German Volksstimme witnesses say the driver was zigzagging and was stopped by police when it tried to turn around.
At least two people have been killed, according to the Federal State of Saxony-Anhalt’s Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff. One of the dead is supposed to be a child. According to information to Photo and Volksstimme At least eleven people have been killed.
The driver of the car has been arrested. According to the police, the driver managed to drive 400 meters before he was stopped, write Photo. MDR writes that it is suspected that there was an explosive charge in the car.
The suspect is a man from Saudi Arabia who works as a doctor, according to Haseloff.
According to the authorities, it is probably a planned attack, but the motive is still unclear.
Witness: “War-like” scenes
A witness who owns a food stall at the Christmas market describes the situation at the site as “war-like”.
Hospitals in the nearby city of Halle are preparing to receive many injured people. Several rescue helicopters and ambulances have been sent to Magdeburg.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz writes on X that the reports from Magdenburg “suggest the worst”.
Scholz, together with Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, will travel to Magdeburg on Saturday.
In principle, the entire center is cordoned off and people have been asked to leave the place by shouting in megaphones.
Magdeburg is located in northeastern Germany and has over 200,000 inhabitants. The Christmas market took place in the central parts of the city.
Previous attack on German Christmas market
In 2016, on December 19, a terrorist attack took place at the Breitscheidplatz Christmas market in Berlin.
48 people were injured and 12 were killed when Anis Mari drove a truck into a crowd. The 24-year-old was then shot dead in Milan when he opened fire on police officers. Anis Mari had sworn allegiance to IS.
Christmas markets are a very popular tradition and also attract international tourists. German police have also said that they have stopped similar planned acts.
Foreign Ministry: No information about Swedes
At the moment, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has no information that Swedes have been injured. Swedes on site are asked to contact their relatives and follow the authorities’ advice.
See SVT Nyheter’s live broadcast of the attack at SVT Play.