After the attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg, eastern Germany, world leaders and foreign ministries reacted. The U.S. Department of State said the United States was “shocked and saddened by the tragic news.” The Saudi Foreign Ministry stressed that Saudi Arabia “rejects violence” and expressed “solidarity with the German people and the families of the victims.” The attack was also commented on by, among others, President Andrzej Duda and French President Emmanuel Macron.
On Friday evening in Magdeburg in eastern Germany, a car drove into a crowd people at the Christmas market. According to the Magdeburg city authorities, two people were killed and dozens were injured as a result of this attack.
The authorities assume it was an attack. The suspected perpetrator was arrested immediately after the attack. He is a 50-year-old man born in Saudi Arabia. The Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt said that he was a doctor and that he acted alone. The perpetrator came to German in 2006, he worked legally and had a permanent work permit.
READ: Tragedy at the fair. Who is suspected of carrying out the attack
Reactions after the attack in Germany
She condemned the attack on the fair Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized on Platform X that it “rejects violence” and expressed “solidarity with the German people and the families of the victims.” The statement did not mention a suspect in the attack.
The Department of State commented on the tragedy in eastern Germany USA. “The United States is shocked and saddened by the tragic news from Magdeburg. We express our sincerest condolences to the families and loved ones of those killed and injured, and to all those affected by this terrible incident. We stand in solidarity with the German people as we mourn the loss of life,” ministry spokesman Matthew Miller wrote in a statement.
He added that the US was ready to help Germany eliminate the damage and determine the circumstances of the attack. “Germany is one of our closest partners and strongest allies, and we stand shoulder to shoulder with them today and in the weeks to come,” he wrote.
He also expressed his condolences to the Germans Pentagon in a statement from Friday's conversation Lloyd Austin with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, even though it took place before the attack in Magdeburg.
Magdeburg. Rescuers at the scene of the tragedy (20/12/2024)PAP/DPA
The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, wrote on the X platform that her thoughts were with the “victims of the brutal and cowardly act” in Magdeburg.
“I express my condolences to the family and friends and thank the police and rescuers,” she added. She stressed that “this act of violence must be investigated and severely punished.”
“Tragic news from Germany. I am shocked by the brutal attack at the Christmas Market in Magdeburg. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims and the injured,” wrote the president Andrzej Duda on the X platform
Also the president France Emmanuel Macron he emphasized that he was “deeply shocked by the nightmare” that happened at the fair in Magdeburg.
“My thoughts are with the victims, the injured, their loved ones and their families. France shares the pain of the German people and expresses full solidarity,” he wrote.
“I am shocked by the terrible attack at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany. I have just spoken to Chancellor Olaf Scholz to express my solidarity and sympathy with the victims, their families and the entire German nation,” the Spanish Prime Minister wrote on Friday evening on Platform X Pedro Sánchez.
Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau he declared that his country expressed its support and solidarity towards the German people. “The attack at the Christmas market in Magdeburg is terrifying. My thoughts are with the victims, their loved ones who are suffering, and all those who were injured and traumatized,” he wrote.
Main photo source: EPA/PHILIP SINGER