At least five killed in German Christmas market attack

By Stefan J. Bos

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.

Officials say the suspected attacker's motive is unclear, and he has no known links to Islamist extremism. Social media messages suggested that they 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.

'A terrible, insane act'

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.”

Signs of hope

However, there were also signs of hope. Scholtz made clear that it was impressive how quickly the police, fire brigade, and emergency services arrived and how many people made their way from very different places to help in a concrete and quick way.

He said he had a “moving conversation” with some of the emergency services working on the scene, who, he said, 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.