Driver injures at least 60 people at German Christmas market: officials

Editor’s note: Read USA TOADY’s latest coverage of deaths and injuries at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany.

A driver killed at least two people Friday night when he plowed into a large crowd at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg, local officials said.

At least 60 people were injured, said Reiner Haseloff, Prime Minister of the state of Saxony-Anhalt, whose capital is Magdeburg. One of the dead was a small child, Haseloff added.

Police have arrested the suspected attacker, whom Haseloff described as a doctor from Saudi Arabia acting alone.

“It is a terrible tragedy. It is a catastrophe for the city of Magdeburg, for the country and for Germany as a whole,” said Haseloff.

Police declined to give casualty figures, only confirming a large-scale operation at the market, where people had gathered to celebrate in the days leading up to the Christmas holidays.