Death toll from German Christmas market car-ramming rises to four, Bild reports By Reuters

BERLIN (Reuters) – The death toll in a car crash at a Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg on Saturday rose to four, German newspaper Bild reported, after the suspect plowed into a large crowd of visitors on Friday.

German authorities are investigating a Saudi doctor who was arrested as the alleged driver of a car Der Spiegel magazine reported sympathized with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

More than 60 people were injured, some seriously, when a car drove through a crowd at a central city market, local officials said, including a young child.

The police said they arrested a 50-year-old man from Saudi Arabia who has been living in Germany for almost two decades. Police did not name the man and could not immediately comment on the rising death toll.

The man worked as a doctor in a nearby town, local officials said, and police searched his home at night.

Saudi Arabia warned German authorities about the attacker after he posted extremist views that threatened peace and security on his personal X account, a Saudi source told Reuters.

Der Spiegel reported that the suspect was an AfD sympathizer, but did not say where it got the information.

Germany’s domestic intelligence agency was unavailable for comment.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is scheduled to visit Magdeburg later on Saturday.

The attack comes amid intense debate over migration and security in Germany, which is preparing for snap elections on February 23.

The AfD, currently in second place behind the conservative opposition, has led calls to crack down on migration to the country.

AfD chancellor candidate Alice Weidel condemned the attack and said on X: “The pictures of Magdeburg are shocking. My thoughts are with the bereaved and the wounded. When will this madness end?”