Death toll from car collision at Magdeburg Christmas market rises to 5 – DW – 12/21/2024

Several German states and cities said they were tightening security at Christmas markets in the wake of the Magdeburg attack, which killed 5 people and injured 200 others.

In the capital Berlin, the state interior minister said police would “increase their presence at the city’s Christmas markets” as a precaution.

Other states, including Hesse, Bremen, Lower Saxony, Rhineland-Palatinate and Schleswig-Holstein, said they had also stepped up security measures.

The eastern city of Leipzig said its mountain parade would coincide with a Christmas market on Saturday, and extra officers and vehicles had been deployed.

Markus Lewe, president of the German Association of Cities, explained that cities “take terrorist warnings from the authorities very seriously and regularly adjust security measures on site.”

,[At the same time] Levey stressed, “Despite a high level of effort, security can never be perfect.”

Despite calls from some quarters for an early closure of Christmas markets, Albert Ritter, president of the German Showmen’s Association, said this would send “the wrong signal”.

“The way we celebrate [Christmas with] “They are symbols of living democracy and peaceful coexistence,” Ritter told the Rhinesche Post newspaper.

A minute’s silence is planned for all Christmas markets in Germany on Saturday at 7 pm local time (0600 UTC/GMT).