Vehicle plows into crowded Christmas market in Germany, killing 2 and injuring dozens

MUNICH — At least two people were killed, including a small child, and more than 60 were injured when a car plowed through a crowded Christmas market in eastern Germany on Friday, officials said.

The suspected driver, identified as a doctor from Saudi Arabia who lived in Germany, was detained, said Reiner Haseloff, premier of the state of Saxony-Anhalt.

The suspect acted alone, and there was no ongoing threat to the public, he said. Officials have not given more information about a possible motive or cause of the crash.

The victims include one adult and one child, Haseloff said. He did not rule out additional deaths due to the severity of some of the injuries.

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The suspect is 50 years old and entered Germany for the first time in 2006, according to Tamara Zieschang, interior minister of Saxony-Anhalt. He last worked as a doctor in Bernburg, about 30 miles south of Magdeburg, Zieschang said.

She called the incident one of the darkest days for Saxony-Anhalt and for Magdeburg.

A short video of the incident posted on X and geolocated to Magdeburg shows a vehicle speeding through a crowd of shoppers, hitting dozens as others scramble to safety. The vehicle races straight before making a right turn out of view.

The man was driving a rental vehicle, Haseloff said.

Police released a hotline for people affected so they can contact their relatives. They announced on X that the Magdeburg Christmas market is closed due to "extensive police operations" there.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned of a difficult time ahead.

"My thoughts are with the victims and their families," Scholz said in a post on X. "We stand by their side and by the side of the people of Magdeburg. My thanks go to the dedicated rescue workers in these anxious hours."

Haseloff indicated that Scholz is expected to visit the scene of the Magdeburg crash Saturday.

Germany’s Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck lamented the incident calling it “terrible news” in a post on X.

The White House is closely monitoring the incident in Magdeburg and has offered support to German officials, extending condolences to the victims, their families and the German people, a White House official said.

In a similar incident almost exactly eight years ago, a driver plowed into a Christmas market in 2016 in Berlin, killing at least 12 people and injuring dozens more.

Police in New York City have increased security at holiday markets as a precaution and in response to the incident in Germany, a senior NYPD official told NBC News on Friday.

Additional resources will be sent to numerous holiday markets and high-profile locations across the city. Threats have been made to some markets abroad, but no specific local threat has been made, the official said.

Antonio Planas reported from Orlando and Carlo Angerer from Munich.