At least 2 dead, 60 injured in mass attack at Christmas market in Germany; suspect is doctor originally from Saudi Arabia

German law enforcement officials say the suspect in the mass attack on revelers at a Christmas market is a doctor who had moved to Germany from Saudi Arabia over a decade ago.

The 50-year-old suspect was detained after he plowed his dark-colored BMW into crowds at the outdoor market in Magdeburg on Friday at about 7 p.m.

Video captured the attack and appeared to show the car being driven at top speed without braking into the crowd.

“As things stand, he is a lone perpetrator, so that as far as we know there is no further danger to the city,” said Reiner Haseloff, the governor of Saxony-Anhalt.

Officials said at least 15 victims were seriously hurt. Haseloff said the fatalities were a toddler and an adult but added that there may be more fatalities as the seriously injured are treated.

“It is really one of the worst things one can imagine, particularly in connection with what a Christmas market should bring,” Haseloff added.

The suspect moved to Germany in 2006, according to officials. He is a consultant for psychiatry and psychotherapy. He reportedly rented the car just before the attack. He had been recognized as a refugee in 2016, but officials said they did not have any knowledge of his having been radicalized before the attack.

“The images are terrible. According to my knowledge, the car drove into the crowds of visitors,” said Michael Reif, a spokesperson for the city, “but from what direction and how far it went, I can’t say.”

Some noted that the attack occurred only one day after the eighth anniversary of the heinous terror attack on a Christmas market in Berlin that took the lives of 12 Germans.

Magdeburg is a city of about 240,000 residents two hours west of Berlin in Eastern Germany.

Scenes from the attack can be viewed on a news report from DW News on YouTube.

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