Drove into crowd at Christmas market in Magdeburg – doctor arrested

The 50-year-old doctor rented a car and drove to the Christmas market in Magdeburg.

There he mowed down visitors during a 400 meter long horror ride.

At least two are dead and 15 seriously injured.

The attack on the Christmas market is believed to have been carried out by a doctor, specialist in psychiatry, who came to Germany from Saudi Arabia in 2006, according to German media.

Late last night, a large police operation was underway against a home in his hometown of Bernburg, south of Magdeburg.

Hit the market

The 50-year-old man could be arrested after the death march through the Christmas market stalls in central Magdeburg.

The nightmare began at 19.04 on Friday evening.

A man in a black BMW rammed the thousands of visitors who visited the popular Christmas market.

Many had no chance to escape the vehicle in the narrow passages between the stalls.

At least two people, an adult and a small child, have died. A large number of people are treated for injuries of varying degrees of severity.

Didn’t hear when the car arrived

The most seriously injured hovered last night between life and death.

Reiner Haseloff, Minister President of Saxony-Anhalt, fears that the attack may claim more victims.

– But it is speculation so far. “Every human life sacrificed in this attack is a terrible tragedy and one too many,” he said at a press conference.

Witnesses were later able to tell of the horror when the car came towards them.

The couple Nadine, 32, and Marco, 39, had traveled from Wolfsburg to Magdeburg because they had heard that the city has the best Christmas market.

They walked arm in arm when the doctor came driving.

– He was hit and pulled away from me. It was terrible. No one even screamed. You didn’t hear when the car arrived, says Nadine to the newspaper Bild.

The boyfriend suffered head and leg injuries and was taken to hospital.

“Don’t get too close”

The gruesome photos from the scene show that many people must have had angelic guardianship. The death toll could have been much higher.

After an approximately 400-meter mad dash through the crowd, the driver tried to turn the car around. He was then arrested by the police.

Pictures from the scene show how the man is lying on his stomach on the ground while police approach him with guns drawn.

– Careful, don’t get too close, says one of the policemen to his colleagues.

In the car, the driver had a bag which it was feared could contain an explosive device. During the night, the police bomb technician was able to blow the danger over.

No known terrorist connections

A few hours after the attack, more and more information about the suspected perpetrator had appeared in the German press.

He is described as a 50-year-old doctor, a specialist in psychiatry, with employment at the local hospital in Bernburg.

He is said to have come to Germany in 2006 and had a permanent residence permit.

According to information last night, the man did not have any known connections to extreme environments and terrorism.

But the 50-year-old has, according to German media, put forward conspiracy theories about the German state’s “secret operations to hunt down and destroy the lives of Saudi ex-Muslims”. He has also criticized “Germany’s open borders” on social media.

He is said to have also expressed appreciation for the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany, writes Spiegel.

The police stated last night that they still had no motive for the incident.

– We do not yet know the background to the crime. We are considering all possibilities, says a spokesperson for the police to the news agency dpa.

Care is taken in a tent on the square

The man is said to have rented the car that was used in the fatal attack shortly before, writes Welt.

The Christmas market last night looked like a war scene.

Many injured were treated in large hospital tents in the square. Overturned chairs, abandoned food and parts from broken market stalls litter the marketplace, according to reporters on the scene.

The police are now calling for all the witnesses they can get to piece together the puzzle of the suspected perpetrator’s journey through the market. Witnesses are encouraged to upload photos and videos from the incident on the police website.