Germany Christmas market attack: Saudi doctor arrested after two killed and 68 injured – latest | Germany

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.

Kate Connolly

Security experts said they were astounded that the man was able to drive into the market despite the heavy-set bollards which had been installed to prevent such an attack.

Hans-Jakob Schindler, a terrorist expert, told German media: “In the first instance it’s a surprise that a vehicle of that size was able to drive onto a Christmas market in Germany.”

Germany is home to an estimated 2,500 to 3,000 Christmas markets which are hosted around the country for about a month, from the end of November to just after Christmas.

Keeping the markets secure has been a major issue ever since 2016 when an Islamist extremist attacker drove a truck into a crowd of Christmas market-goers in Berlin, leaving 13 people dead and dozens more injured. The attacker was killed days later in a shootout in Italy.

What do we know about the suspect?

Kate Connolly

The man arrested has been identified as Taleb A., a 50-year-old medical doctor from Saudi Arabia.

Saxony-Anhalt’s leader Reiner Haseloff said the man had been living in Germany since 2006. The suspect, a consultant for psychiatry and psychotherapy, was recognised as a refugee in 2016.

Some German media pointed to the suspect’s past social media posts in which he reportedly expressed views critical of Islam and had even warned of the “dangers” of an Islamisation of Germany.

“As things stand, he is a lone perpetrator, so that as far as we know there is no further danger to the city,” Haseloff said.

The suspect rented the car shortly before the attack, according to reports citing a security source, and was not known to authorities as having an Islamist background.

What happened on Friday evening?

Kate Connolly

If you’re just waking up to this news, here is a recap of what happened on Friday evening from our Berlin correspondent Kate Connolly:

Scores of people were injured and at least two people, including a small child, were killed on Friday after a car ploughed into a crowd of people at a Christmas market in the eastern German town of Magdeburg, in what local officials are describing as a terror attack.

At least 68 other people were injured, including 15 who were left in a critical state, according to the city government.

In the attack, a black BMW drove straight into the crowd at the Christmas market, travelling at speed for 400 metres in the direction of the town hall, according to eyewitnesses cited by the broadcaster.

Videos posted on social media showed a dark-coloured car driving into the crowds at high speed. Several media outlets showed the videos in their coverage, but the authenticity of the footage has yet to be officially confirmed.

Emergency workers were seen treating victims on the ground at the market, surrounded by blood. Makeshift tents were erected at the site. Witnesses reported hearing cries and screams. The operator of a food stall on the market described the scenes as “reminiscent of a war”.

The driver of the car was immediately arrested, and later identified as Taleb A., a 50-year-old medical doctor from Saudi Arabia.

Hello, we are restarting our live coverage of the attack in Germany in which a driver ploughed a car into a crowd at a Christmas market in the eastern town of Magdeburg on Friday evening, leaving at least two people dead and 68 injured.

Fifteen people were left in a critical condition and a small child was among the fatalities, government officials said.

Police have arrested a 50-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia who they believe is responsible for the attack, according to the German state premier, Reiner Haseloff. The premier who was on his way to Magdeburg on Saturday and described the incident as “a terrible event, particularly now in the days before Christmas”.

The suspect was identified as Taleb A. He had been living in Germany since 2006, Haseloff said. The man, a consultant for psychiatry and psychotherapy, was recognised as a refugee in 2016.

“As things stand, he is a lone perpetrator,” Haseloff said. “So that as far as we know there is no further danger to the city.”

In other developments:

• Emergency workers were seen treating victims on the ground at the market, surrounded by blood. Makeshift tents were erected at the site. Witnesses reported hearing cries and screams. The operator of a food stall at the market described the scenes as “reminiscent of a war”.

• The car, a dark BMW drove, straight into the crowd at speed at the market, witnesses were reported as saying, while apparent videos of the ramming were posted on social media.

• Police cleared an area around the vehicle after the incident to investigate a possible explosive device, according to local broadcaster MDR, which later cited police as saying no such device had been found.

• A police operation was also under way in the town of Bernburg, south of Magdeburg, where the suspect is believed to have lived, local newspaper Mitteldeutsche Zeitung reported.

• Hospitals within a 80km (50-mile) radius of Magdeburg were geared up to take patients, while all the region’s emergency helicopters were deployed to the area. Magdeburg’s University hospital said it was treating 10 to 20 patients and preparing for more, German press agency dpa reported. Emergency services said the number of injured might be as high as 80.

• Saudi Arabia condemned the attack, with its ministry of foreign affairs saying the kingdom expressed its “solidarity with the German people and the families of the victims”.

• The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said his “thoughts are with the victims and their families”. He was due to travel to Magdeburg on Saturday along with the interior minister, Nancy Faeser.

• The German president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, wrote that “the anticipation of a peaceful Christmas was suddenly interrupted” in the attack but cautioned that “the background to the terrible deed has yet been clarified”.

• The UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, said he was “horrified” by the attack and “we stand with the people of Germany”.

• The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said he was “profoundly shocked” by the attack an that he “shares the pain of the German people”.