The death toll from a run-over accident at a Christmas market in Germany has risen to four, Bild newspaper reported to Reuters

BERLIN (Reuters) – The death toll in a car-ramming accident at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg rose to four on Saturday, the German newspaper Bild reported, after a suspect ran over a large crowd of visitors on Friday.

German authorities are investigating a Saudi doctor, who was arrested on suspicion of being the driver of the car, as Der Spiegel magazine reported that he was sympathetic to the far-right Alternative for Germany party.

Local officials said that more than 60 people were injured, some in serious condition, when a car ran over crowds gathered in a market in the city in the center of the country. Among the dead was a small child.

Police said they arrested a 50-year-old Saudi who has lived in Germany for nearly two decades. Police did not mention the man’s name and could not immediately be reached to comment on reports of the high death toll.

Local officials said the man worked as a doctor in a nearby town. The police searched his house throughout the night.

A Saudi source told Reuters that Saudi Arabia warned the German authorities about the attacker after he published extremist views on his personal account on X that threaten peace and security.

Der Spiegel magazine reported that the suspect sympathized with the Alternative for Germany party. The magazine did not mention where it obtained this information.

It was not possible to obtain an immediate comment from the German domestic intelligence agency.

German Chancellor Olaf Schulz is scheduled to visit Magdeburg later on Saturday.

The attack comes at a time when controversy over immigration and security is escalating in Germany, which is preparing to hold early elections on February 23.

The Alternative for Germany party, which currently ranks second behind the conservative opposition, is at the forefront of calls to suppress immigration into the country.

Alice Weidel, AfD chancellor candidate, condemned the attack and said on Channel X: “The images from Magdeburg are shocking! My thoughts are with the bereaved and wounded. When will this madness end?”