Police officers are shown patrolling the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, in a file photo taken on Dec. 20, 2016. At least one person was killed and others were injured Friday when a car sped into the crowded market in the central German city. File Photo by Peter Gercke/EPA
At least one person is dead and several more were people were injured Friday after a car plowed into a crowded Christmas market in the central German city of Magdeburg, local authorities said.
Magdeburg Police confirmed the death and an as-yet unknown number of injuries in a statement issued to public broadcaster Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk. Advertisement
Matthias Schuppe, a spokesman for the state government of Saxony-Anhalt, told the broadcaster the driver of the car has been arrested, adding the incident is “probably an attack.”
Saxony-Anhalt Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff called the incident a “terrible event, especially now in the days before Christmas,” and indicated he was on his way to Magdeburg to assess the situation.
Police said “extensive operations” were underway in the city center and that the Christmas market is closed.
A video circulating on social media appeared to show a car plowing through people at a very high rate of speed as it traveled down a street hosting the market. Other shoppers are seen fleeing in panic.
Photos from the scene also showed ambulances attending to victims.
