German leaders mourn the marring of centuries-old tradition

German leaders along with Chancellor Olaf Scholz visit the site of a car-ramming attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg

On Saturday, Germans began mourning another violent attack and their shaken sense of security after a Saudi doctor drove a black BMW into a Christmas market teeming with holiday shoppers on Friday evening, killing at least two people, including a small child, and injuring at least 60 others in what authorities called a deliberate attack.

Authorities identified the suspect as a 50-year-old who has been living in Germany for nearly two decades and practicing medicine there. On Saturday, there were still no answers as to what caused the man to drive into a crowd in the eastern Germany city of Magdeburg.

The violence shocked the country and the city, marring a festive event that's part of a centuries-old German tradition. It prompted several other German towns to cancel their weekend Christmas markets. Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser were due to travel to Magdeburg on Saturday, and a memorial service that took place in the city cathedral on Saturday evening. "My thoughts are with the victims and their relatives," Scholz wrote on X. "We stand beside them and beside the people of Magdeburg."

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