Germany Christmas market attack latest: US ‘shocked’ by incident

LONDON — The US was “shocked and saddened” by Friday’s deadly suspected terrorist attack at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg, a State Department spokesman said.

At least two people were killed and nearly 70 injured in the eastern German city, 75 kilometers west of the capital Berlin, when a car plowed into festival goers.

A small child and an adult were killed in the attack, according to Reiner Haseloff, the prime minister of Saxony-Anhalt. At least 15 of the injured were seriously injured, according to a local official.

One suspect — a Saudi Arabian doctor in his 50s — was arrested, Haselhoff said. The man has been living in Germany since 2006. A rental car was used in the attack, the prime minister said.

The motive is unknown at this time, US sources said. But US law enforcement sources told ABC News that German authorities are treating the attack as a terrorist incident.

“We send our deepest condolences to the families of those killed and injured and to all those injured and affected by this horrific incident,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

“We express our solidarity with the people of Germany in their grief over the loss of life. The United States stands ready to provide assistance as recovery efforts continue and as authorities investigate this horrific incident,” Miller’s statement continued.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz offered his condolences to the victims. “My thoughts are with the victims and their families,” Scholz said. “We are on their side and on the side of the people of Magdeburg. My gratitude goes out to the dedicated rescue workers in these critical hours.”

Friday’s stabbing incident comes almost eight years after a similar attack at a Christmas market in the German capital. On December 19, 2016, a man drove a truck into a crowd at a Berlin market, killing 13 and injuring dozens.

US law enforcement officials have warned of similar attacks on American soil, especially during the holiday season.

For example, a joint threat assessment of New Year’s Eve in New York’s Times Square noted that the use of carjacking alone or in combination with other tactics “has become a recurring tactic used by Western threat actors.”

The NYPD, out of an abundance of caution, will increase resources to similar sites around the city, including Christmas markets, according to NYPD Deputy Counterterrorism Commissioner Rebecca Weiner.

“We know this is a very festive season, it’s a busy time in the city, and we’re going to make sure that all of our holiday markets, all of our holiday activities are protected by our anti-arms teams, our officers on patrol, all of our counter-terrorism officers, our critical response command Weiner told ABC New York’s WABC.