A car plowed into people visiting a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, on Friday, killing at least two people and injuring nearly 70 others, according to German officials.
German authorities are treating the incident as terrorism, U.S. law enforcement sources told ABC News.
A young child and an adult were killed in the attack, according to Saxony-Anhalt Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff.
Among those injured, at least 15 were seriously hurt, according to a local official.
People are still arriving at the hospital for treatment, a German security official said.
A car drives through the annual Christmas market in the city center, Dec. 20, 2024, in Magdeburg, Germany.
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A suspect has been arrested in the attack that sent shoppers fleeing in panic, U.S. sources said.
The suspect is an approximately 50-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia who has lived in Germany since 2006, according to Haseloff. A rental car was used in the attack, according to Haseloff.
The motive is unknown at this time, U.S. sources said.
A view of the cordoned-off Christmas market after a driver drove into a group of people in Magdeburg, Germany, Dec. 20, 2024.
Heiko Rebsch/Dpa/Picture Alliance via Getty Images
Emergency services attend an incident at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Dec. 20, 2024.
Dorthe Hein/DPA via AP
Extensive police operations are underway at the Magdeburg Christmas market, which is now closed, local police said.
“My thoughts are with the victims and their families,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said. “We stand by their side and by the side of the people of Magdeburg. My thanks go to the dedicated rescue workers in these anxious hours.”
Magdeburg is about a two-hour drive west of Berlin.
Car drives into crowd at Christmas market in Germany
ABC News
Christmas Market location in Magdeburg
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This incident comes nearly eight years to the day after a terror attack at a different German Christmas market. On Dec. 19, 2016, a man drove a truck into a crowd at a market in Berlin, killing 13 and injuring dozens.
The potential for vehicle-ramming attacks is an ongoing concern for U.S. law enforcement officials, especially ahead of New Year’s Eve. A joint threat assessment about New Year’s Eve in New York City’s Times Square noted the use of vehicle-ramming alone or in conjunction with other tactics “has become a recurring tactic employed by threat actors in the West.”
Emergency services attend an incident at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Dec. 20, 2024.
Dorthe Hein/DPA via AP
The NYPD, out of an abundance of caution, will surge resources to similar areas around the city, including Christmas markets, according to NYPD deputy commissioner for counterterrorism Rebecca Weiner.
“We know this is a very festive time, it is a busy time in the city, and we are going to make sure that all of our holiday markets, all of our holiday activities are protected by our counter weapons teams, by officers on patrol, all our counter-terrorism officers, our critical response command,” Weiner told ABC New York station WABC.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.