Magdeburg: Victim of the Christmas market attack finally get help!

The Federal Government has decided to treat the people affected by the devastating attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg similar to victims of terrorist and extremist acts. This measure was announced by Federal Minister of Justice Volker Wissing, who emphasized that the state had to help those affected. The compensation should be paid regardless of the motif of the perpetrator, and the Bundestag is promptly addressed to provide budgetary funds for this support.

In the attack, which occurred shortly before Christmas, a 50-year-old man raced into a crowd on the Christmas market by car. Tragically, a nine -year -old boy and five women between 45 and 75 years of age lost their lives. In addition, almost 300 people were injured, with 41 of them seriously or seriously injured. The federal victim representative Roland Weber estimates that more than 530 people are affected by the incident in any form, and this includes not only the directly injured persons, but also relatives of the victims and witnesses.

Details about the attack

The attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg occurred on Friday evening when the perpetrator's car raced into the crowd at high speed. The perpetrator had initially slowly drove into an escape and escape route before increasing the pace and driving over the Christmas market over a distance of at least 400 meters. Attentive officials were able to stop and arrest the driver at the intersection, where the attack started. The time window of the attack was only three minutes, and the first emergency call was received at 7:02 p.m.

The vehicle, a rental car with Munich license plate, was not secured by locking or bollards during the attack. The injured were treated in a total of 15 clinics, some of them outside of Magdeburg. An arrest warrant against the 50-year-old perpetrator was enacted and he sees accusations for five murder, multiple attempted murder and multiple dangerous bodily harm. The man is a doctor from Bernburg who has lived in Germany since 2006 and has an indefinite residence permit.

The Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt informed that the perpetrator was not known to the authorities as an Islamist. A terrorism expert described him as a "atypical perpetrator" who had put his religion. The investigation into the exact background of the attack is currently underway, whereby possible motifs in dissatisfaction are suspected of dealing with Saudi Arabic refugees in Germany.