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At least four people have now died after a car ploughed into a busy Christmas market in eastern Germany, local media has reported.
According to German newspaper Bild, the number of those seriously injured has also risen to 41, while German broadcaster ARD reported that over 200 people had been injured.
Among the dead is a toddler, who was confirmed to have been killed on Friday following the attack at around 7pm.
Police have arrested a 50-year-old Saudi doctor identified by local media as Taleb A., who had lived in Germany since 2006 and reportedly sympathised with Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany party.
The attack sparked global condemnation from world leaders, including UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, who said he is “horrified” by the “atrocious attack”.
“I am horrified by the atrocious attack in Magdeburg tonight,” the prime minister said. “My thoughts are with the victims, their families and all those affected.”
Olaf Scholz lays flowers at a tribute to victims
Athena Stavrou21 December 2024 10:54
‘Children screaming, crying for mama’: Eyewitness returns to scene to pay respects
Andrea Reis, who had been at the market on Friday, returned on Saturday with her daughter Julia to lay a candle by the church overlooking the site. She said that had it not been for a matter of moments, they may have been in the car’s path.
“I said, ‘let’s go and get a sausage’, but my daughter said ‘no let’s keep walking around’. If we’d stayed where we were we’d have been in the car’s path,” she said.
Tears ran down her face as she described the scene. “Children screaming, crying for mama. You can’t forget that,” she said.
Athena Stavrou21 December 2024 10:50
200 injured – reports
The number of those believed to have been injured in Friday’s attack has risen to as many as 200 people.
German broadcaster ARD reported the number on Saturday, hours after it was reported that the death toll has risen to four.
The news outlet said 41 people are very seriously injured, 90 seriously injured and a further 80 are suffering minor injuries.
Athena Stavrou21 December 2024 10:40
Pictured: Olaf Scholz arrives in Magdeburg to make statement
Athena Stavrou21 December 2024 10:33
German chancellor to give statement
German chancellor Olaf Scholz is expected to give a statement in the next hour.
We will be reporting what he says on this live blog.
Athena Stavrou21 December 2024 10:18
UK Foreign Office ‘closely monitoring situation’
The Foreign Office said it is “closely monitoring the situation” in Germany after a car ploughed into crowds of shoppers at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, killing at least two.
A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said: “We are in contact with the German authorities following an incident in the city of Magdeburg and are closely monitoring the situation.
“Our thoughts are with all those affected.”
Athena Stavrou21 December 2024 09:57
Magdeburg market will not re-open
The Magdeburg Christmas market will not re-open this year after at least four people were killed by a car ramming into the crowd on Friday night.
On Saturday morning, members of the city council gathered near the cordoned-off market.
The city’s deputy for personnel, citizen services and public order Ronni Krug, told local media: “People have died here. If you open a market, that means that people will drink mulled wine and eat where people have died. I cannot approve of that and it will not happen as long as I have a say here.”
Athena Stavrou21 December 2024 09:29
Watch: Video appears to show arrest after German Christmas market attack
Athena Stavrou21 December 2024 09:18
Death toll rises to 4
The death toll in a car-ramming attack at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg has risen to four people, and 41 others were gravely injured, the Bild newspaper reported on Saturday.
Eighty-six people are receiving hospital treatment for serious injuries incurred in the incident on Friday evening in the central city, while another 78 sustained minor injuries, the report said.
Police were not immediately available to comment on casualties. Local officials had initially said it least two people were killed and had warned that the toll could rise.
Athena Stavrou21 December 2024 08:47
What do we know about the suspect?
Police have arrested a 50-year-old Saudi doctor after a car ploughed into a German Christmas market.
He has been identified by local media as Taleb A., a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy who sympathised with Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany party.
Athena Stavrou21 December 2024 08:28
