Death toll rises to four from Christmas market car-ramming, say local media

BERLIN: The death toll from a car-ramming at a German Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg rose to four on Saturday, according to German newspaper Bild, after a suspect on Friday ploughed into a large crowd of visitors.

German authorities are investigating a Saudi doctor, arrested as the suspected driver of the car, with Der Spiegel magazine reporting he had sympathies with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

More than 60 people were injured, some of them seriously, when a vehicle drove through crowds gathered at a market in the central city, local officials said. A young child was among the dead.

Police said they arrested a 50-year-old from Saudi Arabia who has been living in Germany for almost two decades. Police did not name the man and were not immediately available to comment on the reported rise in the death toll.

The man worked as a doctor in a nearby town, local officials said. Police searched his home overnight.

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

Der Spiegel reported that the suspect had sympathised with the AfD. The magazine did not say where it got the information.

Germany’s domestic intelligence agency was not immediately available for comment.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is scheduled to visit Magdeburg later Saturday.

The attack comes at a time of heightened debate over migration and security in Germany, which is gearing up for a snap election on Feb 23.

The AfD, currently polling in second place behind the conservative opposition, has led calls for a crackdown on migration to the country.

AfD chancellor candidate Alice Weidel condemned the attack and said on X: “The pictures from #Magdeburg are shocking! My thoughts are with the bereaved and injured. When will this madness come to an end?”