At Least One Person Dead When a Car Plows Into a German Christmas Market

Mar. 15, 2025

Emergency Services at German Holiday Market.Photo:Heiko Rebsch/picture alliance via Getty

Heiko Rebsch/picture alliance via Getty

“Extensive police operations are currently taking place at the Magdeburg Christmas market,” the Magdeburg Saxony-Anhalt police departmentposted in a statement to X.

The number of victims was unclear, thoughThe Guardianreported that at least one person had been killed. Video posted to social media showed several individuals laying on the ground and emergency services at the scene, theBBC reported.

According to theAPandThe Guardian, citing the German news agency, the car’s driver has been arrested.

Emergency Services at German Holiday Market.Dörthe Hein/picture alliance via Getty

Dörthe Hein/picture alliance via Getty

“This is a terrible event, particularly now in the days before Christmas,” said Saxony-Anhalt Minister-President Reiner Haseloff, the outlets reported. The outlets also noted that German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser had said earlier in December that there were no concrete threats of danger to holiday market goers but encouraged shoppers to remain vigilant nonetheless.

Magdeburg is a city in central Germany, west of Berlin, with a population of roughly 200,000.

Bandages on Ground Outside German Holiday Market.Dörthe Hein/picture alliance via Getty

In 2016,12 were killedand almost 50 were injured after a truck drove into a holiday market in central Berlin. The attack spurred amulti-day manhuntfor suspect Anis Amri that captivated the globe, concluding in adeadly police shootoutin Milan, Italy.

source: people.com