At least five people have been killed after a speeding car plowed into a Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg. 68 people are injured. At least 15 of the injured are in critical condition, officials said.

According to the BBC, the situation after the attack was very frightening. The car that was driving through the crowd of people stopped only after reaching about 400 meters. The head of the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Rainer Hazeloff, said a 50-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia was the suspected attacker.

The doctor has been detained by the police. Police said that the suspect, who has been living in Germany for 18 years, has a permanent residence permit. Local authorities suspect that the attack was deliberate. According to the police, he is not involved in any Islamic extremist group so far.

A counter-terrorism expert said it would be too early to rule out the involvement of a large network in the incident. In Europe, youth influenced by al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group have carried out such attacks before. German Chancellor Olaf Solz is expected to visit the site on Saturday. Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry condemned the attack. French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed his grief over the incident.

This is not the first time that people have died in a car attack at a Christmas market in Germany. Eight years ago, 12 people were killed in an attack on a Berlin Christmas market by a man with radical affiliations. Forty-nine people were injured in the attack, which was carried out by the man who failed to get asylum in Germany.