This is the moment the alleged Saudi perpetrator of the horrific Christmas market car smash was arrested with an explosive device after driving through a huge crowd, killing at least 11 people and injuring almost 70.
The driver of the car, reportedly a dark BMW, was arrested after the crash that occurred at 7:04 pm today in the city of Magdeburg, according to unidentified government officials in the state of Saxony-Anhalt who spoke to dpa news. desk.
Video footage of the moment appears to show armed police crowding around a dark car and forcing a bearded man to slowly get out.
Several officers were seen crowding around the man with guns drawn as they shouted at him. Officers were also seen chasing the growing crowd around the arrest incident, while a police officer crouched over him with a torch.
He is said to have been a man from Saudi Arabia, born in 1974, Welt said.
Bild reported that the car had driven “at least 400 meters across the Christmas market”, according to a police spokesperson.
According to emergency services, who set up tents to provide immediate treatment to victims, at least fifteen people were ‘seriously’ injured. According to Bild, which cited anonymous sources, eleven people were killed in the attack.
Video footage too graphic to share shows the dark car crashing into the dense crowd, leaving dozens of people lying on the ground.
Within seconds we see scores of revelers fleeing for their lives after the crash. Separate footage showed children crying loudly as several small crowds formed over those injured in the crash in apparent attempts to help them.
A man who spoke to German newspaper Mitteldeutsche Zeitung said the Christmas market has been turned into “war-like conditions”, while another eyewitness told the newspaper that numerous families were in the market’s “fairytale area” when the car was driven through the crowd collided. .
Local police said on
The Magdeburg Christmas Market is located on the Old Market, right next to the Magdeburg Town Hall, near the River Elbe, and was closed by the organizers after the incident.
Organizers have also asked people to leave the city center. A spokesperson in the city said all hospitals are “preparing for a mass casualty event.”
Neighboring towns, including Halle, about 80 kilometers from Magdeburg, are preparing their hospitals to receive victims.
Halle is also increasing its own safety measures following the incident.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed his concern in a message toThe reports from Magdeburg indicate something bad. My thoughts are with the victims and their families.”
The driver of the car, said to be a dark BMW, was arrested following the accident which occurred at 7.04pm today.
A car plowed into a group of people at a Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg on Friday, injuring between 60 and 80 people.
At least one person is believed to have died in the crash
Saxony-Anhalt Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff said in the aftermath of the attack: “This is a terrible event, especially now in the days before Christmas.”
Haselhoff would travel to the city to witness the aftermath of the attack.
Robert Habeck, the German vice-chancellor, said in a message to X: ‘What terrible news from Magdeburg, where people wanted to spend the Advent season in peace and community.
“My thoughts are with the victims and their families. I would like to thank all emergency services on site who are doing everything they can to help and clarify the background.’
CDU candidate for chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) wrote on X: ‘This is very depressing news from Magdeburg. My thoughts are with the victims and their families. I would like to thank all the emergency services who are treating the injured on site.’
AfD leader Alice Weidel, meanwhile, wrote on the platform: ‘The images from Magdeburg are shocking! My thoughts are with the relatives and injured. When will this madness end?’
Magdeburg, west of Berlin, is the capital of the state of Saxony-Anhalt and has approximately 240,000 inhabitants.
The horror crash comes less than a month after German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said that while there were no concrete indications of a danger to the Christmas markets this year, it was wise to be vigilant.
According to the emergency services, several people were ‘seriously’ injured
Christmas market organizers have asked people to leave the city center
Magdeburg, west of Berlin, is the capital of the state of Saxony-Anhalt and has approximately 240,000 inhabitants
This is a groundbreaking story – more to come.