Car runs over dozens of people at a Christmas market in Germany: video of the moment

This Friday, a vehicle ran over a group of people who were at a Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg, in the east of Germany, as reported by the German news agency DPA.

The driver of the car was arrested, according to this agency. On the other hand, Local media reported deaths and injuries, while local police said in X that “extensive police operations are underway.”

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Some media outlets speak of several deaths, however, authorities are still investigating whether there are fatalities.

In addition, a spokesman for the Saxony-Anhalt regional Interior Ministry told AFP that it is believed to have been an attack. One of the rescuers told this same agency that there were between 60 and 80 people who were injured.

An attack that “raises the worst fears”

The head of the German government, Olaf Scholz, wrote in X that the attack “raises the worst fears.”

“My thoughts are with the victims and their families. We are at their side and at the side of the people of Magdeburg. My thanks to the first responders in these hours of anguish,” he added.

NTV television channel showed ambulances and fire trucks at the scene of the attack, injured being taken to hospitals and first responders installing assistive devices for victims.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser recently called for vigilance during Christmas markets, but without mentioning specific threats.

Intelligence services warned that Christmas markets were an “ideologically appropriate target for people motivated by Islamism.”

It should be noted that Germany was the scene of a bloody attack against a Christmas market in December 2016. The attack, in the center of Berlin, left 12 dead at the time and was attributed to the jihadist group Islamic State.

Magdeburg, which is west of Berlin, is the capital of the state of Saxony-Anhalt and has approximately 240,000 inhabitants.

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