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A car plowed into a crowd of people at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg on Friday evening, killing at least one and injuring dozens in what local officials said was a deliberate attack.
The mayor of the city, Regina-Dolores Stieler-Hinz, says that one person died in the incident in Saxony-Anhalt, and more than fifty people were injured.
Eyewitnesses told German broadcaster MDR that the car drove straight into the crowd.
Police arrested a person in connection with the incident – which took place in the Old Market district of the city center, not far from its Gothic cathedral – according to the DPA news agency.
A spokesman for the state government of Saxony-Anhalt told the agency that it “could be an attack”.
“This is a terrible event, especially now in the days before Christmas,” said the country's prime minister, Reiner Haseloff.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz said reports from Magdeburg, a city of about 240,000 people on the Elbe river, appeared grim.
“My thoughts are with the victims and their families,” he said. “We are on their side and on the side of the people of Magdeburg. My gratitude goes to the rescuers who have dedicated themselves in these anxious hours.”
Commenting on Germany's upcoming elections in February, Christian Democrat leader Friedrich Merz said: “This is very disappointing news from Magdeburg. My thoughts are with the victims and their families. I thank all the emergency services that attended to the injured in the area.”
The incident comes nearly eight years to the day since 12 people were killed and 49 injured in 2016, when a 24-year-old Tunisian unsuccessfully sought asylum went to a Christmas market in Berlin. The 13th victim of the attack, which was claimed by the jihadist group Isis, died in 2021.
German interior minister Nancy Faeser recently asked people to be vigilant when visiting Christmas markets. Speaking in late November, he said there was no concrete evidence of an immediate threat, but added: “Given the high level of threats in the abstract, we still have reason to remain vigilant and work relentlessly on our security.” .”
The event comes as Germany prepares the first election in Februarywhere migration and law and order are set to appear strongly. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is currently in second place.
The party achieved a historic first place in regional elections in eastern Thuringia earlier this year, and came second in two other nearby regions.
The votes took place shortly after a terrorist attacks in August in the town of Solingen, when a Syrian citizen suspected of being a member of Isis killed three people and wounded eight others.
The event was held by the AfD and the far-left Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), both of which say uncontrolled immigration has led to violent crime on Germany's streets.
AfD leader and chancellor candidate Alice Weidel said the images from Magdeburg were “shocking”, adding: “When will this madness end?”