(Bloomberg) — Germany is reeling after an attacker drove a car into a Christmas market in the eastern city of Magdeburg, killing five people, in an incident that’s likely to inflame debate over public safety ahead of federal elections in February.
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The Friday evening assault just days before the Christian celebration recalled a similar attack in Berlin in 2016, when a driver plowed a truck into a crowd, killing 13. That sparked an increase in security around the festive markets, which pop up in thousands of towns and cities across Germany in the run-up to Christmas, and a profileration of bollards and barriers to hinder vehicles.
The number of fatalities has risen to five and more than 200 people were injured, Saxony-Anhalt state premier Reiner Haseloff said. More than 40 people are so seriously wounded “that we have to be very concerned about them,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz during a visit to the state capital on Saturday.
“It is important that we investigate and that we do so with the utmost precision and accuracy,” Scholz said. “Nothing must be left untouched.”
The suspect, a doctor of Saudi Arabian origin who works in the region, drove a rental vehicle into the crowd and was taken into custody, Haseloff said. Police said authorities believe the perpetrator acted alone as they investigate the motives behind the attack.
Saudi Arabia condemned the incident in a statement from the foreign ministry. “The Kingdom affirms its position in rejecting violence, and expresses its sympathy and sincere condolences to the families of the victims, and to the government and people of the Federal Republic of Germany, wishing the injured a speedy recovery,” the ministry said.
Public broadcaster ARD posted video of what it said showed police officers pointing guns and swarming a suspect, ordering the person to lie on the ground and stop moving. The Christmas market was closed after the incident, and all cultural activities in the city have been stopped and cultural institutions closed until Dec. 23, Magdeburg authorities said.
Scholz’s government has been under pressure to boost security nationwide after several violent attacks in recent months, including a stabbing in the city of Solingen in August that left three people dead and eight wounded.