At least 2 dead and dozens injured in attack on German Christmas market, authorities say

Our live coverage of the attack on a German Christmas market has ended for the day. Follow the latest updates or read through the posts below.

The man suspected of driving into a crowd at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, rented the car that was used to plow people down, Saxony-Anhalt’s Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff said, according to local public broadcaster MDR.

The White House is closely monitoring the situation in Germany after a driver fatally plowed his car into a crowd at a Christmas market, a National Security Council official told CNN.

US officials are in touch with their German counterparts who are investigating the situation to offer support.

“Our condolences go out to the victims and their families, and our thoughts are with the German people during this difficult time,” the official told CNN.

It remains unclear whether President Joe Biden, who has been in touch with Democratic lawmakers as they strategized to avert a US government shutdown, has been personally briefed on the situation.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry has condemned Friday’s attack in a German Christmas market.

German authorities previously reported that the suspected attacker is from Saudi Arabia.

The ministry shared Saudi Arabia’s “condemnation” of the attack in a statement posted to social media, expressing “its solidarity with the German people and the families of the victims.”

A Christmas market in Halle, a city close to Magdeburg where Friday’s attack took place, is remaining open — but with more security, local public broadcaster MDR has reported.

The number of security staff will be increased and roads will be secured, MDR reported.

The Halle market will also not play music in solidarity with the city Magdeburg, the outlet said.

No explosive device has been found in the car of the man suspected to have plowed into a crowd at a German Christmas market, local public broadcaster MDR has reported, citing Magdeburg police.

The area around the car had previously been cordoned off as police suspected that an explosive device could be inside it, MDR reported.

Police officers guard a cordoned-off area near the scene where a car drove into a crowd at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, Friday, December 20.

An adult and a toddler were killed at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, when a car plowed into the crowd Friday evening. At least 15 people have serious injuries and 68 people in all were hurt, authorities said.

Magdeburg is the capital of Saxony-Anhalt and is about 100 miles west of Berlin.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said security authorities are working to clarify details surrounding the attack.

Here’s what we know:

Suspect: The suspected driver, who has been arrested, is a 50-year-old man from Saudi Arabia with a permanent residency permit, the Saxony-Anhalt region’s Interior Minister Tamara Zieschang said Friday. He is a doctor who works in the state and has been living in Germany since 2006, according to Reiner Haseloff, the regional prime minister of Saxony-Anhalt. Preliminary information suggests he acted alone, Haseloff added.

On the scene: Victims who have minor injuries from the attack are being treated in a nearby shopping center, local public broadcaster MDR has reported. Around 100 firefighters and 50 rescue personnel have been deployed to the scene, according to a statement posted on the city of Magdeburg’s Facebook page. Local police suspect there could be an explosive device in the vehicle that plowed through the Christmas market, according to local public broadcaster MDR. The Magdeburg police have cordoned off the entire site due to the possibility of explosives, the local broadcaster reported.

Leaders respond: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will travel to Magdeburg on Saturday, Haseloff said. In a statement Friday, Scholz said that his thoughts are with the victims after a car plowed into a Christmas market in Magdeburg. The presidents of France and the European Council also sent their condolences to victims.

The number of injured people from the German Christmas market attack has exceeded the capacity available in the hospitals in Magdeburg, local public broadcaster MDR has reported.

Therefore, some of the victims are being flown to a hospital in the nearby city of Halle, MDR reported.

Remember: At least 15 people have serious injuries and 68 people in all were hurt, authorities said.

Emergency services expect to be at the scene all night, according to a MDR reporter on the scene.

Victims who have minor injuries from the German Christmas market attack are being treated in a nearby shopping center, local public broadcaster MDR has reported.

A tram has also been converted to care for victims with minor injuries in Magdeburg, MDR reporters on the ground said.

Those with more serious injuries are being treated in surrounding hospitals, emergency services said.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will travel to Magdeburg on Saturday, said Reiner Haseloff, the regional prime minister of Saxony-Anhalt.

Earlier on Friday, Scholz said that his thoughts were with the victims of the Christmas market attack and thanked rescue workers who were at the scene.