Chancellor Scholz to visit site of Magdeburg attack – DW – 12/21/2024

The Berlin state government has ordered tighter security at Christmas markets in the German capital following the deadly attack on a festive gathering in Magdeburg.

Berlin Interior Minister Iris Sprange announced the move, saying that authorities were in close contact to discuss stepping up their presence in the city.

“My sincere sympathy goes out to the victims and their families at this difficult time,” Sprange added.

Magdeburg is approximately a two-hour drive from Berlin.

Friday night’s atrocity came almost eight years to the day since an Islamist terror attack on a Christmas market in Berlin. Authorities have not commented on a possible connection between the two attacks. 

On December 19, 2016, a man drove a truck into a crowd at Breitscheidplatz, killing 13 people. More than 70 people were injured, some of them seriously.

The attacker fled to Italy, where he was shot dead by authorities.

The alleged Magdeburg attacker is an activist who holds critical views on Islam and is a supporter of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), German media reported, citing social media posts.

The DPA news agency said the 50-year-old Saudi doctor, who has permanent residency in Germany, had previously described himself as an ex-Muslim.

The news agency said the alleged perpetrator had written negative social media posts about German authorities.

Among other things, he accused Berlin of not doing enough to combat Islamism.

Despite supporting Saudi women who flee their homeland due to persecution, he advised them: “Do not ask for asylum in Germany.”

German news magazine Der Spiegel also reported that the suspect’s social media posts indicated his sympathy for Germany’s AfD party. 

Police said hours after Friday’s attack that the alleged perpetrator had lived in Germany since 2006.

He was arrested at the scene of the attack and was taken into custody for questioning.

One of the main questions being discussed is how the suspect managed to drive the car into the crowd, especially since security measures were increased at Christmas markets precisely to avoid these kinds of incidents.

I visited several markets in recent days to see security measures firsthand and, compared to previous years, they were much more evident: large concrete bollards at the entrance, other roadblocks on the sidewalks and police officers patrolling. At least in the markets I visited, it would have been very difficult for someone to drive a vehicle into a crowd.

This incident will most probably ignite a debate about whether security measures are effective enough to protect public spaces in Germany or whether additional efforts are needed.

At least in the short term, Christmas markets are expected to step up security. Officials in Berlin, for example, announced the deployment of additional personnel to the city’s Christmas markets. 

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is slated to visit the scene of a deadly car-ramming of visitors at the Magdeburg Christmas market. 

Scholz and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser will visit the market, where flowers of condolences have already been laid. 

Saxony-Anhalt’s Premier Reiner Haseloff said he would discuss the “necessary measures” to be taken with the chancellor.

“We now need to work through this and draw long-term consequences,” Haseloff said.

Two people — including a young child — were killed and 60 others were injured after the vehicle plowed into a crowd of people in German town on Friday. 

Scholz offered his condolences in a statement on social media platform X.

“My thoughts are with the victims and their relatives. We stand beside them and beside the people of Magdeburg,” he wrote on Friday night. 

A man in a rental car plowed into a crowd of people at the Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg at around 7 p.m. on Friday. The man killed two people and injured at least 60 more. 

State Premier Reiner Haseloff said the suspect was a 50-year-old Saudi national who worked as a doctor and had been residing in Germany since 2006. 

The suspect, who is believed to have acted alone, was arrested at the scene. 

Authorities are yet to give a statement on the potential motives behind the crime.

Several countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and France, have issued statements of condolence. 

The mayor of Magdeburg, Simone Borris, said a memorial service will be held in the city’s cathedral on Saturday evening. 

dvv/sms (DPA, AFP, AP, Reuters)