Germany: 2 killed, at least 60 injured, as car plows into crowd at Magdeburg Christmas market
What you need to know
2 killed, at least 60 injured as car plows into crowd at Magdeburg Christmas market
Police arrested a suspect soon after
The man is a Saudi citizen with permanent residency status in Germany who had been in the country since 2006
Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his thoughts were with the victims and their families
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said she and Scholz would visit Magdeburg on Saturday
Counter terrorism expert says wider network possible
Hans-Jakob Schindler is senior director of the Counter Extremism Project at the International Center for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT) think tank.
He told DW that even though police said they believe the man acted alone, it was too soon to infer from that that there was not a wider network involved.
"I think the announcement is giving the wrong impression," he told DW. "In the car there was only this one individual and it was important [for the police] to highlight that so there was not a panic after the attack that there were other perpetrators in the town."
He said reports of a suspicious bag also being found in the car could point to the suspect having had support. But to the same token, Schindler said, both scenarios remained plausible.
"Obviously, everything is possible to do by yourself, you can rent a car by yourself, you can buy gas canisters by yourself, you can build an explosive device by yourself," he said. "But all these things in combination give the possibility of a wider support network, who were not in the car but helped the man prepare and that is really important to determine."
Saudi Arabia expresses solidarity and condemns violence
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry issued a statement in the early hours of Saturday, "expressing its solidarity with the German people and the families of the victims."
The ministry also "affirmed its rejection of violence."
DW reporter: Police also checking suspicious bag in car
DW reporter Jule Giessler said police had told her they had found a suspicious bag in the rental car used in the crime and were trying to ascertain if it contained explosives or dangerous material.
She said they were therefore thinking of clearing people out of homes in the immediate vicinity.
"The Christmas market is right in the city center, in the so-called 'Alt-Markt'." Giessler said, referring to Magdeburg's historic market and the residential area around it.
What else did local officials say about the suspect?
Saxony-Anhalt Interior Minister Tamara Zieschang, speaking alongside state premier Reiner Haseloff at a press conference on Friday night, offered further details about the suspect, saying he was a 50-year-old who had been practicing medicine in Bernburg, about 23 miles (36 kilometers) south of Magdeburg.
"As things stand, he is a lone perpetrator, meaning that as far as we know there is no further danger to the city," State Premier Reiner Haseloff told reporters.
Haseloff said flags would be flown at half-mast in Saxony-Anhalt out of respect for the victims and that the federal government planned to do the same.
"It is really one of the worst things one can imagine, particularly in connection with what a Christmas market should bring," Haseloff said.
Haseloff announced that Chancellor Olaf Scholz would visit Magdeburg on Saturday "and will certainly not only mourn with us, but also discuss the necessary next steps."
Haseloff also said that given "the seriousness of this attack" he could imagine federal prosecutors also wanting to take action.
In the event that the crime is deemed terrorist in nature, federal prosecutors would bring the case.
What have police said about the case so far?
Magdeburg police reported that they had arrested a male suspect late on Friday.
They also appealed to locals to head home or stay at home, saying "it would make our work much easier."
In a later update, the city's police said they believed the suspect had acted alone.
"In the case of the suspect it appears to concern a 50-year-old man from Saudi Arabia. The man was captured immediately at the crime scene and placed under provisional arrest. We are currently working on the assumption of a lone perpetrator," police said.
This is a developing story, and Ujasusi Blog will keep you updated