At least two dead after car crashes into crowded Christmas market in Germany Crime News

At least 2 people died and 68 were injured when a car crashed into a crowded Christmas market in Magdeburg, the capital of the central German state of Saxony-Anhalt.

On Friday night, officials assessed the incident as a deliberate attack and announced that the driver was taken into custody at the scene. The fact is being investigated.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was among the mourners.

“News from Magdeburg indicate that something terrible is happening. My thoughts are with the victims and their families,” Scholz said he wrote X on the social media platform.

“We are with them and the people of Magdeburg. I express my gratitude to selfless rescuers in these anxious hours.”

Saxony-Anhalt Interior Minister Tamara Zieschang identified the suspect as a 50-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia who came to Germany in 2006. He was previously unknown to the security services.

Another government official, Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff, told local news agencies that one of the dead was a child and the other an adult. He added that he could not say whether there would be more deaths as a result of the suspected attack.

“This is speculation now. Every human life that is a victim of this attack is a terrible tragedy and one life is too many,” Haseloff told reporters.

According to him, officials believe that the suspect, who is currently in custody, is the sole culprit behind the car smash.

“As things stand, he is a lone criminal, so as far as we know there is no other threat to the city,” Haseloff told reporters.

According to the information given on the website of the city government, the condition of 15 people among the injured is serious. Another 37 people were moderately seriously injured, and 16 people were lightly injured.

According to local media reports, the car was seen traveling at high speed before hitting the crowd at around 19:00 local time (18:00 GMT).

Christmas markets are a medieval tradition in the German-speaking regions of Europe, and in Magdeburg, a town of about 240,000, the market is set in the town square, with stalls selling regional food and drinks.

Al Jazeera reporter Dominic Kane, who went to the scene of the suspected attack on Friday, said the Christmas market would have been particularly busy when the car struck.

It’s the last Friday before Christmas. All over Germany, Christmas markets have a tradition of being places where people go, especially on Friday night,” Kane said.

“And then think about the physical geography of the market, where it is. It’s not that far from the whole city, it’s not that far from the Elbe river, it’s actually quite a picturesque town. So, there will be many reasons for people to be in the city center at that time.”

“This is a terrible tragedy. This is a disaster for the city and state of Magdeburg and for Germany in general,” Haseloff said. “It’s really one of the worst things you can imagine about what a Christmas market should bring.”

Friday night’s suspected attack comes eight years after a similar car crash in the German capital Berlin on December 19, 2016.

The Tunisian suspect in this case, 24-year-old Anis Amri, intentionally he drove a truck To the Christmas market on Breitscheidplatz, a large public square. 12 people were killed and 56 people were injured.

Raphael Bossong, a senior fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, speculated that the two incidents may be related.

“Unfortunately, it’s a very sad anniversary and I’m sure the perpetrator is showing it for this purpose, to cultivate this memory,” Bossong told Al Jazeera shortly after the news broke.

He added that Friday’s suspected attack would have political repercussions in Germany, which is scheduled to hold federal elections in February 2025.

“We are entering an election period and the German debate is already very polarized around these migration issues,” Bossong said. “I’m sure it will add fuel to the fire, as sad as it is.”

In particular, security measures – both in the market and in the country as a whole – are likely to come under scrutiny.

“All Christmas markets and all these facilities in general must now be cordoned off against traffic because no cars and no trucks can enter them,” Bossong told Al Jazeera. “Probably, the authorities will have to give some explanation.”

Already, billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk – a figure increasingly on the right – has used the attack to demand Prime Minister Scholz’s resignation.

“Scholz must resign immediately,” he said he wrote X. “Incompetent fool” in a comment on the social media platform.

Earlier in the day, Musk announced that he would supports the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) in the upcoming elections in Germany. “Only the AfD can save Germany,” he said placedindicates support.

To follow in more detail.