German Christmas market car attack latest: Death toll rises to five with 200 injured

Historian Mark Almond writes:

Germany’s rapidly growing economic and social dislocation in recent years has tended to make migration – strictly speaking unrelated – the touchstone issue in its coming general election on 23 February.

The facts of the Magdeburg case are likely to be lost. For too many people and politicians, the identity of the suspect as an Arab will be enough.

In any case, the issue, as opposed to the facts, was already being internationalised.

Thi Linh Chi Nguyen, a manicurist from Vietnam whose salon is situated close to the Christmas market, was on the phone during a break when she heard loud bangs that she thought were fireworks.

She then saw a car drive through the market at high speed. People screamed and a child was thrown into the air by the car.

Shaking as she described what she had witnessed, the 34-year-old recalled seeing the car bursting out of the market and turning right onto Ernst-Reuter-Allee street and then coming to a standstill at the tram stop where the suspect was arrested.

“My husband and I helped [those injured] for two hours,” she told the Associated Press. “He ran back home and grabbed as many blankets as he could find because they didn’t have enough to cover the injured people. And it was so cold.”

The German city of Magdeburg is in a state of mourning following an attack on a busy Christmas market which killed at least five people and left hundreds more injured.

Tributes piled up on Saturday as state leaders visited the site of the attack where a driver rammed a car into crowds at around 7pm on Friday.

My colleague Athena Stavrou has the full report:

Earlier this week, Metropolitan Police deputy assistant commissioner Jon Savell said police are “relying on the public” to spot suspected terror activity during the festive period, as this year has seen a 50 per cent rise in suspicious activity reports made to the anti-terror hotline.

The cause of the spike is uncertain but contacts are making a difference to investigations, according to Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP).

There were 52 more arrests for terrorism offences last year than in 2022 – an increase of 31 per cent and the highest number in a single year since 2019.

Christmas shopping, festive markets, pantomimes and concerts could attract terror activity, CTP warned, as it reminded people “everyone has a role to play in keeping each other safe” by spotting and reporting suspicious activity.

CTP previously said it had more than 800 investigations under way, most in partnership with MI5, and that it was working with intelligence services at MI5 and GCHQ to understand and prevent radicalisation.

It has stopped 43 late-stage attacks from taking place alongside MI5, three of which were in the last 12 months.

One of the UK’s biggest Christmas markets said it has reviewed its security processes in the wake of the attack on a German Christmas market which left five people dead and more than 200 injured.

Birmingham’s Frankfurt Christmas Market’s security processes were reviewed and discussed with a police security adviser after a BMW ploughed into customers at the busy festive market in Magdeburg on Friday evening.

It said no changes are required and all staff remain vigilant.

Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz and interior minister Nancy Faeser travelled to Magdeburg on Saturday, where a memorial service took place. Ms Faeser ordered flags lowered to half-staff at government buildings across the country.

Although many people went to the site with candles to mourn the victims, several hundred far-right protesters gathered in a central square in Magdeburg with a banner that read “remigration”, German news agency dpa reported.

Another protester was photographed holding a sign reading “the blood sticks to your hands”.

The scene of a memorial for victims of Friday’s attack has become more politically charged, as politicians warned of concerns that the incident could be exploited by the far-right ahead of February’s election.

By the time AfD co-leader Tino Chrupalla arrived at a memorial in Magdeburg on Saturday, the crowd was filled with young people who had responded from all round east Germany to calls by the far-right party’s youth wing on social media to attend a vigil, Reuters reported.

Many of the gathered supporters wore symbols associated with neopaganism and other mystical movements associated with the far right. One young man, who said he was from the AfD’s youth wing, wore an amulet depicting the hammer of the Norse god Thor.

AfD, which is particularly strong in eastern Germany, took first and second place in three regional votes this autumn.

Saudi Arabia had warned German authorities about the suspect after he posted extremist views on his X account that threatened peace and security, a Saudi source told Reuters.

A German security source said Saudi authorities had sent several tips in 2023 and 2024 and that these had been passed on to the relevant security authorities, the news agency reported.

A risk assessment conducted last year by German state and federal criminal investigators came to the conclusion that the man posed “no specific danger”, newspaper Die Welt reported, citing security sources.

Magdeburg’s university hospital has announced an additional day of blood donation appointments on Monday in conjunction with the German Red Cross.

In an earlier post on Facebook, a representative for the hospital said: “In the midst of this challenging moment, our colleagues demonstrated extraordinary dedication.

“Many of you responded immediately, providing support in the emergency department, the operating rooms, the wards, logistics, psychosocial assistance, or on-site as first responders. Your efforts saved lives and brought hope during a dark hour.

“We extend our heartfelt thanks for your immense willingness to help, your solidarity, and your humanity.”