At least 11 people have been killed after a car traveling at a high speed plowed into a crowd of civilians during a Christmas market in Germany, according to local media reports.
The incident occurred in the city of Magdeburg in Eastern Germany.
News agency DPA said the driver had been arrested following the incident in the eastern city of Magdeburg.
Public broadcaster MDR said at least eleven people have been killed.
AFP news agency reports 60-80 people have also been injured.
All hospitals are preparing for a mass casualty event, according to a city spokesman.
The outlet quoted local government spokesperson Matthias Schuppe as saying it was an attack.
In a post on X, Police said that “extensive operations” were taking place at the market.
The market was closed and further reports would follow, police added.
Weihnachtsmarkt Magdeburg has posted on Instagram warning people to leave the market and allow emergency services to do their work.
Initial videos from the scene show what appears to be a car “driving at speed” into a crowd at a Christmas market.
WATCH (Warning: Distressing content):
That CAR crashed into Christmas market crowd, multiple deaths..
Driver(Syrian), OLA ho UBER..
Germany 🇩🇪 has only 5-6% Muslims, yet they are struggling to freely celebrate their one holy festival, Christmas
#Germany #Magdeburg pic.twitter.com/7iGYIwga2z
— Veda Saahitya Murthy 🏡:🇮🇳 🏬: 🇿🇦 (@SaahityaVeda) December 20, 2024
At least 3 dead Germans at the Christmas market in #Magdeburg after a man breaks through anti-terror bollards with his car and crashes into the crowd. Allegedly it’s a Syrian.
Has Germany had another terrorist attack at the end of 2024? pic.twitter.com/07kq0rmErK— Martin Sellner (@Martin_Sellner) December 20, 2024
🚨🇩🇪BREAKING: AT LEAST 11 DEAD, 60 INJURED AFTER VEHICLE CRASHES INTO CHRISTMAS MARKET IN MAGDEBURG, GERMANY https://t.co/VxII9Dmkp8 pic.twitter.com/dateXmF2RK
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) December 20, 2024
The police have put out a statement saying that an extensive police operation has been launched.
Authorities have yet to officially confirm whether it is a terror attack.
Local media reports initially confirmed that at least one person is dead.
However, it has now been confirmed that at least 11 have been killed with the death toll likely to increase.
City spokesman Michael Reif said he suspects it was a deliberate act, adding there are “numerous injured” and that the “pictures are terrible.”
“My information is that a car drove into the Christmas market visitors, but I can’t yet say from what direction and how far,” he added.
Images show police have arrested the driver who appears to be male.
Initial reports suggest the driver is Syrian but this has yet to be confirmed.
However, the state premier Reiner Haseloff said the suspect is a doctor from Saudi Arabia.
German media described him as 50 years old and previously unknown to security services.
🚨 #BREAKING: The first photo of the terrorıst who deliberately drove his car into the Christmas Market in Germany has been released
Notice anything?
This is a DIRECT RESULT of mass unchecked immigration.
(via @visegrad24) https://t.co/60iF65xChc pic.twitter.com/GUd7ETzV8E
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) December 20, 2024
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said “the news suggests something bad” and that his thoughts are with “the victims and their families.”
The state premier Reiner Haseloff is on his way to the scene.
Haseloff said it is a “terrible event, especially now in the days before Christmas,” according to MDR.
There has been a warning for Christmas markets across Europe to be on high alert for possible terror attacks.
Germany’s interior minister Nancy Faeser said last month there were no concrete signs of a danger to Christmas markets this year.
However, Faeser added it was wise to be vigilant.
On December 19, 2016, an Islamic extremist drove a car into a crowd at a Christmas market in Berlin.
The incident killed 13 people and injured dozens more.
Magdeburg, which is west of Berlin, is the state capital of Saxony-Anhalt and has a population of about 240,000.
This is a breaking news story.
Please check back for updates.
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