Moment ‘doctor in his 50s from Saudi Arabia’ is arrested after BMW ‘drives into crowd’ at German Christmas Market
THIS is the moment a Saudi doctor who allegedly drove into a crowd of people at a Christmas market is arrested.
Cops are understood to have found an explosive device in the BMW SUV following the horror incident this evening in Magdeburg, central Germany.
At least two people are dead, including a small child, and up to 80 are injured – with some in critical condition.
The suspect – reported to be aged 50 – was not known to German authorities as an Islamic extremist, the country’s DPA news agency said.
The car is described having been driven 400m across the market area at just after 7pm, having smashed through protective barriers.
State leader Reiner Haselhoff said the arrested man is a Saudi doctor who works in Saxony-Anhalt.
In video footage of the suspect’s arrest, he is seen with his hands up before he lays down on the ground.
Other graphic clips appear to show the dark car careening into the dense crowd, leaving dozens of people on the ground.
Saxony-Anhalt’s Prime Minister Reiner Erich Haseloff confirmed two people have died, including a child.
In a initial report, cops said: “Extensive police operations are currently taking place at the Magdeburg Christmas market.
“The Christmas market in the city center is closed. Further reports will be made.”
Police are not yet sure whether the incident was carried out by a lone perpetrator.
The Christmas market posted to Instagram to ask people to stay away.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said reports “suggest something terrible is to come”.
He said in a post on X: “My thoughts are with the victims and their families. 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.”
Matthias Schuppe, a government spokesman in the province of Saxony-Anholt, said it was an “attack” in comments to local media.
A spokesperson for local police said: “We do not yet know exactly what happened.”
Eight years ago, a truck driven by a failed Tunisian asylum seeker with Islamist links, crashed into a crowded Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring dozens of others.
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