The attack in Magdeburg late Friday (December 20) has shocked Germany and caused widespread reactions. Chancellor Olaf Scholz is expected to visit the scene on Saturday.
Scholz wrote on X: " My thoughts are with the victims and their families. We stand with them and with the people of Magdeburg." The German Chancellor expressed his gratitude for the "committed rescue forces in these hours of anguish ."
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier also expressed his deep concern over the vehicle attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg, which is believed to be an attack.
"The joy of Christmas was cut short," the president wrote on the X platform. "My thoughts are with the victims and their relatives. I thank all the rescue forces for their commitment." Steinmeier drew attention to the fact that "the full background to this terrible act has not yet been clarified."
For its part, Saudi Arabia condemned the act in Magdeburg and expressed its solidarity with Germany. The government in Riyadh expresses “its solidarity with the German people and the families of the victims” and emphasizes “the rejection of violence,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry said on the online service X.
A car crashed into a crowd at the Christmas market in Magdeburg on Friday, according to an internal report from Magdeburg police, shortly after 7 p.m. The premier of Saxony-Anhalt, Reiner Haseloff (CDU), told German media that two people were killed.
It is reported that around 68 people were injured. According to the Magdeburg city administration, 15 of them were seriously injured.
A suspect has been arrested. The driver of a rented black BMW drove into the crowd “at least 400 meters above the Christmas market.” The Christmas market was closed.
The arrested suspect is known to be a 50-year-old doctor, Taleb A., who comes from Saudi Arabia and came to Germany in 2006. According to research by WDR and NDR, he is said to be a very prominent figure in the Saudi migrant community and was considered a contact person for asylum seekers, especially women.
He has had asylum status as a political refugee since 2016. There is no information on the motive. The state premier, Haseloff, said the investigation is ongoing.
According to information from security circles, to which the dpa news agency refers, the arrested suspect was not previously known to German authorities as an extremist.
The statements the man is known to have made on social media until recently provide evidence that he may have felt persecuted.
According to WDR research, he was extremely critical of Islam online and feared the Islamization of Germany. On the X platform, he expressed open hatred for Islam and called himself "the most aggressive critic of Islam in history."/DW