The city of Magdeburg, population 240,000, used to be part of Communist East Germany. The year’s Christmas market is in the old market square, just in front of City Hall.

The Christmas market, where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening, in Magdeburg, Germany, is empty on Saturday evening , Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst) ...

Police say the driver is under arrest after plowing into the crowd at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, killing at least five people - including a 9-year-old - and injuring 200 others.

The suspect, a 50-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia who has lived in Germany for decades, is “clearly Islamophobic,” the German interior minister said. Police have yet to determine a motive.

The Saudi doctor arrested for the depraved and deadly car attack on a Christmas market in Germany has been identified as an anti-Islam activist, according to reports.. The man — Taleb A ...

Germany also banned knives at Christmas markets this year, after a deadly knife attack at a festival in August. Offenders now face a fine of up to 10,000 euros (more than $10,400).

People lay flowers and light candles on concrete blocks that protect the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, where a car drove into a crowd on Friday evening.

Officials say five people have been killed, including a 9-year-old, after a Saudi doctor drove into a Christmas market teeming with holiday shoppers in the German city of Magdeburg on Friday ...