{"id":119579,"date":"2024-12-20T22:55:38","date_gmt":"2024-12-20T22:55:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/several-killed-and-scores-injured-in-germany-as-car-ploughs-into-crowd-at-christmas-market-the-guardian\/"},"modified":"2024-12-20T22:55:38","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T22:55:38","slug":"several-killed-and-scores-injured-in-germany-as-car-ploughs-into-crowd-at-christmas-market-the-guardian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/several-killed-and-scores-injured-in-germany-as-car-ploughs-into-crowd-at-christmas-market-the-guardian\/","title":{"rendered":"Several killed and scores injured in Germany as car ploughs into crowd at Christmas market – The Guardian"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dark BMW reportedly drove into crowd in eastern German town of Magdeburg in what is being described as a terror attack
Scores of people were injured and at least two people, including a small child, were killed on Friday after a car ploughed into a crowd of people at a Christmas market in the eastern German town of Magdeburg, in what local officials are describing as a terror attack.
At least 68 other people were injured, including 15 who were left in a critical state, according to the city government.
In the attack, a black BMW drove straight into the crowd at the Christmas market, travelling at speed for 400 metres in the direction of the town hall, according to eyewitnesses cited by the broadcaster.
Videos posted on social media showed a dark-coloured car drive into the crowds at high speed. Several media outlets showed the videos in their coverage, but the authenticity of the footage has yet to be officially confirmed.
Emergency workers were seen treating victims on the ground at the market, surrounded by blood. Makeshift tents were erected at the site. Witnesses reported hearing cries and screams. The operator of a food stall on the market described the scenes as \u201creminiscent of a war\u201d.
\u201cThis is a terrible event, particularly now in the days before Christmas,\u201d Saxony-Anhalt\u2019s leader Reiner Haseloff who was on his way to Magdeburg <\/strong>said.
The driver of the car was immediately arrested, and later identified as Taleb A., a 50-year-old medical doctor from Saudi Arabia. Haseloff said the man had been living in Germany<\/a> since 2006. The suspect, a consultant for psychiatry and psychotherapy, was recognised as a refugee in 2016.
Footage from the scene showed the alleged perpetrator lying on the ground, his head raised, next to a badly damaged black car. A policeman metres from him is pointing a drawn weapon in his direction as passersby look on in shock.
\u201cAs things stand, he is a lone perpetrator, so that as far as we know there is no further danger to the city,\u201d Haseloff said.
The suspect rented the car shortly before the attack, according to reports citing a security source, and was not known to authorities as having with an Islamist background.
A woman who spoke to the regional newspaper, the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung said that the perpetrator had \u201cdriven deliberately into the section of the Christmas market decked out with scenes from fairytales, where a lot of families with young children were gathered. She told the paper she had just managed to fling herself and her child out of the path of the vehicle.
\u201cThe reports from Magdeburg raise the worst fears,\u201d wrote German chancellor Olaf Scholz on X. He was due to travel to Magdeburg on Saturday along with interior minister Nancy Faeser, according to their spokespeople.
French president Emmanuel Macron said he was \u201cprofoundly shocked\u201d by the attack, adding that he \u201cshares the pain of the German people\u201d.
Michael Reif, spokesperson for the city, addressed journalists near the market, confirming that the incident had taken place at about 7.04pm local time and was being treated as a terror attack rather than an accident.
He said: \u201cThe images are terrible. According to my knowledge the car drove into the crowds of visitors \u2026 but from what direction and how far it went, I can\u2019t say.\u201d
Magdeburg\u2019s mayor Regina-Dolores Stieler-Hinz said at least one person had died and more than 50 were injured. Emergency services said that the number might be up to 80.
Hospitals within a 50-mile (80km) radius of Magdeburg were geared up to take patients, while all the region\u2019s emergency helicopters were deployed to the incident.
A witness identified as Nadine, 32, from Wolfsburg, told the tabloid Bild she was looking for her boyfriend Marco, who was torn from her side when the car raced into the crowds. \u201cHe was hit by the car and ripped away from me,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was terrible. No one even screamed. I didn\u2019t even hear the car.\u201d Marco received injuries to his head and leg, she said. \u201cWe don\u2019t know in what hospital he\u2019s been sent to. The uncertainty is unbearable\u201d.
Security experts said they were astounded that the man was able to drive into the market despite the heavy-set bollards which had been installed to prevent such an attack.
Hans-Jakob Schindler, a terrorist expert, told German media: \u201cIn the first instance it\u2019s a surprise that a vehicle of that size was able to drive onto a Christmas market in Germany.\u201d
Germany is home to an estimated 2,500 to 3000 Christmas markets which are hosted around the country for about a month, from the end of November to just after Christmas.
Keeping the markets secure has been a major issue ever since 2016 when an Islamist extremist attacker drove a truck into a crowd of Christmas market-goers<\/a> in Berlin, leaving 13 people dead and dozens more injured. The attacker was killed days later in a shootout in Italy.<\/p>\n

German interior minister Nancy Faeser had said late last month that there were no concrete indications of a danger to Christmas markets this year, but that it was wise to be vigilant. Many Christmas markets, including the one on Breitscheid Platz in Berlin which was the target of the attack in 2016, have installed extra security including traffic bollards, in an attempt to prevent it from happening again.
On Friday night the Facebook page of the Magdeburg market carried the message: \u201cThe Christmas market is now closed for today. We ask for your understanding.\u201d<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dark BMW reportedly drove into crowd in eastern German town of Magdeburg in what is being described as a terror attackScores of people were injured and at least two people, including a small child, were killed on Friday after a car ploughed into a crowd of people at a Christmas market in the eastern German […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":119580,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-119579","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119579"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119579\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}