Olaf Scholz arrived at the site of the tragedy in Magdeburg on December 21, 2024.

Together with him at the scene of the tragedy were Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, Justice Minister Marco Buschmann, Environment Minister Steffi Lemke, and leader of the parliamentary group "Union" Friedrich Merz.

The politicians who arrived in Magdeburg, along with the Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt, Reiner Haseloff, visited the crime scene in the city center.

"My thoughts are with the victims and their families. We stand by them and the residents of Magdeburg. I thank the selfless rescuers during these distressing hours," Scholz wrote earlier on the social media platform X.

The day before, a native of Saudi Arabia crashed his car into a crowd of visitors at a New Year's market. According to the latest reports, at least four people have died, and around 200 have been injured. The attacker turned out to be a psychiatrist who was practicing in Germany under a license.