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Death toll from Magdeburg Christmas market attack rises to 6

January 6, 2025

A woman who was critically injured in the attack has succumbed to her injuries, prosecutors have said. Attacks on Christmas markets in recent years have resulted in increased security across the country.

https://p.dw.com/p/4oqnT
The local community left thousands of flowers for the victims of the attack
The local community left thousands of flowers for the victims of the attackImage: Heiko Rebsch/dpa/picture alliance

The death toll following an attack on a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg has risen to six, authorities confirmed on Monday.

A 52-year-old woman who was gravely wounded in the car-ramming succumbed to her injuries in a city hospital, prosecutors said. 

German parliament opens inquiry into Magdeburg attack

How did the attack unfold?

On December 20, a man rammed a black BMW into a crowd at the market in the capital of Germany's eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt.

Nearly 300 people were injured, and four women and one boy were killed at the scene.

The 50-year-old suspect* is a national of Saudi Arabia who had been in Germany since 2006, and was a practicing physician. 

Although he was wanted in Saudi Arabia on human trafficking charges, he was granted political asylum in 2006. Riyadh had reportedly tried to warn Berlin that he was potentially dangerous.

An investigation subsequent to the attack found that the suspect had espoused extreme anti-Islam views online and criticized what he saw as the "Islamization" of Germany.

He was apprehended at the scene following the attack, which drew comparisons to the 2016 vehicle-ramming at a Berlin Christmas market that claimed 13 lives, including the perpetrator.

One of the most noticeable changes during the December holiday season in Germany is the increasing installation of anti-vehicle barriers at many Christmas markets around the country.

*Editor's note: DW follows the German press code, which stresses the importance of protecting the privacy of suspected criminals or victims and urges us to refrain from revealing the full names of alleged criminals.

es/kb (AFP, dpa)