Between “sixty and eighty people” were injured when a car crashed into a Christmas market on Friday, December 20, in the German city of Magdeburg (North), a spokesperson for the local emergency services reported to Agence France-Presse. A suspect was arrested near the market, police announced.
No details were provided about this man. The car that drove into the crowd “at least 400 meters through the Christmas market” is still on site, added a spokesperson for the Magdeburg police.
According to the emergency services, several of the injured are “seriously”. “We think it was an attack”a spokesperson for the Saxony-Anhalt regional interior ministry told Agence France-Presse (AFP). Images posted on social media show many people lying on the ground. A large police force was deployed on site. “Large police operations are currently taking place at the Magdeburg Christmas market. The downtown Christmas market is closed »wrote the local police on X.
On X, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote that “The information coming from Magdeburg suggests the worst. » Friedrich Merz, who will wear the colors of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU)-Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU) in the legislative elections of February 23, 2025, also reacted on the same social network. “ My thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones. I thank all the intervention forces who take care of the injured on site. »
Germany experienced a bloody ram truck attack on a Christmas market in December 2016, claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group, which left 12 dead in the center of Berlin.
More information to follow.
Source: Lemonde