By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
MAGDEBURG, GERMANY (Worthy News) – Authorities say at least five people have been killed, including a child, and more than 200 injured after a car drove into a crowd at a Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg. The German chancellor has expressed his shock about the apparent attack.
Christmas cheer has made way for sorrow in Germany as numerous people were killed and injured when a car drove into a crowd at a Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg.
Church bells echoed throughout the city as the victims were remembered. “My family members arrived too late. That’s why they escaped,” a tearful woman said.
Officials say the suspected attacker’s motive is unclear, and he has no known links to Islamist extremism. Social media messages suggested that he had been critical of Islam.
Whatever the reason, carnage is all that is left. Footage from the scene shows numerous emergency services vehicles attending while people lay on the ground.
Further footage then emerged of armed police confronting and arresting a man who can be seen lying on the ground by a stationary vehicle.
An unverified video posted on social media purports to show a car plowing into the crowd at the market. City officials said around 100 police, medics, firefighters, and rescue service personnel rushed to the scene.
SAUDI CITIZEN DETAINED
Reiner Haseloff, the premier of Saxony-Anhalt state, told reporters on Saturday that the suspect – who was arrested – was a 50-year-old Saudi citizen who arrived in Germany in 2006 and had worked as a doctor.
He said a preliminary investigation suggested the alleged attacker was acting as a lone wolf. He could not rule out further deaths due to the number of hundreds injured.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz said all those who suffered were “innocent victims of a terrible, insane act.”
However, there were also signs of hope. Scholtz noted how quickly the police, fire brigade, and emergency services arrived and how many people made their way from very different places to help swiftly and concretely.
He said he had a “moving conversation” with some of the emergency services working on the scene, who, through their professionalism and speed, had prevented the situation from being any worse than it was.
Scholtz also stressed the devastating effect the attack would have on the lives of many caught up in it, adding that the impact on the rescue workers would also be immense.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
Israel expanded its military campaign against Hezbollah on Monday, striking more than 70 targets across Lebanon as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to increase pressure on the Iranian-backed terror group following a sharp rise in drone and rocket attacks on northern Israel.
A federal appeals court is weighing whether Kansas City can use its public accommodation ordinance to require Christian counselors to counsel gay married couples despite the counselors’ biblical convictions on marriage and sexuality.
Tens of thousands of evangelical Christians gathered in the Netherlands for one of Europe’s largest multi-day Christian events, with organizers and participants expressing hopes for spiritual revival in the nation and across Europe.
President Donald Trump pushed back Monday against sharp criticism from Republicans and former administration officials over a potential U.S.-Iran agreement, insisting that any final accord must prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon or it will not be signed.
President Donald Trump said Monday that countries involved in negotiations over Iran should be required to join the Abraham Accords, signaling that the White House is seeking to turn a possible Iran agreement into a wider regional realignment that includes normalization with Israel.
Tensions remained high in Serbia’s capital Belgrade on Sunday after at least tens of thousands of people demanded elections and rallied against what they view as the increasingly authoritarian rule of President Aleksandar Vučić, with violence erupting after the protest and more than 20 people arrested.
Investigations were ongoing Sunday into the killing of three senior Kuki-Thadou Christian church leaders by unidentified gunmen in India’s northeastern Manipur State, Christian investigators told Worthy News.