New details emerge about terrorist attack in Germany’s Magdeburg

Director of Germany’s Magdeburg police Tom-Oliver Langhans has said that a car carrying a terrorist drove onto the Christmas market in Magdeburg on December 20, through an entrance designated for emergency vehicles.

"He approached the pedestrian crossing at low speed and then used the entrance for emergency services to reach the old market," he said, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

Magdeburg city official Ronni Krug said that this entrance was not protected by barriers or bollards to allow emergency services to use it.

However, the entrance was monitored by mobile police units. He noted that this security concept had been developed over an extended period. Krug believes that the public faced an attack that no organiser could have prevented. 

Four people were killed, and 205 others were injured. Spokesperson for the Saxony-Anhalt government Matthias Schuppe called the incident a terrorist attack. The suspect in the vehicle assault turned out to be a refugee.      

Moreover, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has said that Israeli authorities expressed their support for the people of Germany following the terrorist attack in Magdeburg and are ready to render any necessary assistance.

“Shocking images from Magdeburg, Germany last night. I condemn this devastating crime. I expressed our condolences to my counterpart Annalena Baerbock, to the families of the victims and to the German people. I wish a speedy recovery to the injured. Israel stands with the German people in their mourning and offers any assistance required,” Saar wrote on X on December 21.

In turn, Germany’s Senior Prosecutor Horst Walter Nopens has said that the man who carried out the attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg explained his actions by citing the poor treatment of Saudi Arabian refugees in the country.

“He commented on the motive for the crime. Dissatisfaction with the treatment of Saudi Arabian refugees may have been the motive behind the terrorist attack,” he added. 

A tragic incident unfolded in Magdeburg, Germany on December 20 when a car plowed into a crowded Christmas market.  Local officials are calling the attack a suspected act of terror.

The car, a black BMW, sped through the crowd for about 400 meters, heading toward the town hall. According to eyewitnesses, the vehicle struck at high speed, causing chaos and panic among the market-goers. 

Videos shared on social media show the car driving into the crowd, and while the footage has not been officially confirmed, it was widely circulated in media coverage. Emergency services rushed to the scene, where victims were treated among pools of blood. Makeshift tents were set up to assist the injured, as witnesses described the scene as "reminiscent of a war."

By Naila Huseynova