and the us avoids a christmas government shut down after lawmakers vote in favour of a budget dealfor three months. we are in magdeburg in germany, a city in shock this lunchtime. we know five people, including a toddler, was killed when a car ploughed through these christmas dolls, and more than 200 people were injured. this lunchtime, you can sense the people around here moving around the city with a few days

to go before christmas, there is a sombre and solemn air on the streets. ijust is a sombre and solemn air on the streets. i just want to show you exactly the area we are talking about here. you can see the christmas lights are still twinkling in this market, even though the stalls have now been closed and much of this market as you can see has been sealed off with the red and white police tape. this happened yesterday evening, and there is some graphic cctv pictures that showed that a vehicle ploughing into this market. now, it is worth saying that german christmas markets have been targeted before, and many of them have extra levels of security, extra layers of things like concrete barriers to try and stop vehicles, stock cars actually in and doing something like that. they are painted in festive colours, these great big concrete bollards, the red and green arrow there exactly for that reason, to try and protect against attacks. but once we saw yesterday evening was a car seemingly finding a gap in one of these areas and then ploughing for around 400 metres

orso ploughing for around 400 metres or so through the crowd of people. and you can see, these pictures are graphic, they are difficult to watch, incredibly difficult to watch, incredibly difficult for people here to witness yesterday evening. you see people just pushed out of the way as that car really comes at speed down this sort of channel, the alleyway between those christmas market stalls selling local goods, selling food. it was a friday evening, people were out in huge numbers here yesterday evening. now, ijust want to let you know that we will hear from just a second from the german chancellor 0laf scholz, but some the people that were actually here and witness that attack last night have been describing some of what they saw. translation: describing some of what they saw. tuna/mom- describing some of what they saw. translation: well, this is . uite saw. translation: well, this is quite touching. _ saw. translation: well, this is quite touching. we _ saw. translation: well, this is quite touching. we saw- saw. translation: well, this is quite touching. we saw how - saw. translation: well, this is quite touching. we saw how they were guided away, we saw all the blood, it was quite extreme. we were happy we went carousel riding with our child. i have a nine—year—old son and he was so happy. thank god we were not exactly where it

happened. yes, and it was quite moving. we all helped where we could. we received gloves and blankets. it was touching, i don't want to experience this again. don't want to experience this aaain. �* ., ., , , don't want to experience this aaain. ., ., , , again. and for many people as well they are _ again. and for many people as well they are coming - again. and for many people as well they are coming out - again. and for many people as well they are coming out here| well they are coming out here to lay flowers. some of them just starting to be laid around here, and candles as well. just on the other side of the market where there is a big church that has been turned into an impromptu shrine, there is a carpet of flowers are starting to spread from the doorway of that church out and around the area as well. now, the suspect who has been arrested by police, we showed you in the headlines the video of him on the ground next to a vehicle being arrested by an armed police officer. we know so far that he is a 50—year—old doctor from saudi arabia. we know he came here to germany in 2006. there's lots of rumour and speculation spreading online about possible motives, whether or not he was a supporter of the far right afd party here in germany, whether he was an

anti—islam campaigner. none of that has been confirmed just yet, but the german chancellor olaf scholz has been here and he is talking notjust about the tragedy that has hit the city, but also about the investigation and how carefully and painstakingly they will look at what happened yesterday to find out whether he was acting alone, try and find out what the motive may be, and this is what he had to say. translation: now, normally a christmas market is a very peaceful and joyful place. people come together just before christmas, in advent, in the run up to christmas, to enjoy christmas and to think about christmas, to drink gluhwein and to eat grilled sausages. what a dreadful tragedy it is that so many people were injured and killed with such brutality in a place like that. we've now heard that more than 200 people have been injured. there are five fatalities so far, and so many

people are critically injured that we are severely concerned about what will happen to them. it's a dreadful catastrophe. we'd all like to express our empathy and sympathy to those who are injured, and to the families of those who are injured, and to the families of those who have been killed. and i'd like to express the solidarity of the entire country. we're all profoundly touched and shocked by this, and we need to stand together and pull together and will indeed do so. it's very impressive that so many people stepped in to help immediately, including all the people who were working at the christmas market and visiting the christmas market. it's impressive to see. that the police and the fire brigade responded so rapidly, and many people came to help to really provide tangible assistance straight away.

it was very moving for me to talk to the people who were working here as first responders. after you've had that kind of event, it affects everybody. everybody has to respond rapidly, and the professional response has meant that the situation is not even worse than it already is. at the same time, though, we know that this is something that helpers will also be affected by. the emergency services will have to struggle with the memory of this as well, right across germany, providing support to the emergency services in this kind of situation so that nobody is left alone with their memories. and that's even more the case for those who are injured, for the families, for the families of the victims as well. we're providing support in hospitals and moving forward as well, to get to grips with this catastrophe and its ramifications, these innocent victims of this

dreadful, crazy deed. it's important now that we investigate in detail with great precision what has happened. we need to look into all of the background to this deed. we're providing all of the resources required to do that. of course, we need to investigate the perpetrator in depth and his deed. and of course, subsequently draw the requisite consequences and respond. what's important to me is that when you have this kind of atrocity happening, this kind of dreadful incident with so many people killed and injured, it's almost actually to the day, the anniversary of the attack at breitscheidplatz in berlin. and it's important to me

that we stand united. that we talk to each other, we enter into dialogue, that we do not disseminate hatred. we remain a community that has a shared future. we should not allow those who wish to sow hate to do so. but of course, the perpetrators cannot get off scot free. they must be punished for what has happened in all cases. that is also part and parcel of our shared future. i have heard and experienced a great deal of solidarity from all over the world. many people have sent personal messages and written personal messages. it's very positive to hear that. to hear that we in germany are not alone with these challenges in dealing with this catastrophe. so thank you to all of you. once again, thank you to everybody who's helped. thank you to the first responders, the emergency services.

and of course, we'd like to express our solidarity to all of those who have been injured. the citizens of magdeburg, those who have been killed, theirfamilies. everybody, of course, will be dealing with this profound grief over the days to come. olaf scholz, the german chancellor speaking here in magdeburg just in the last couple of hours. he came and visited and laid flowers. you can see here even more people are coming all the time trying to get candles to light in this bitterly cold wind and the rain starting to fall here. leaving flowers and candles and tributes. one of the victims, we know one of the five people killed was a toddler. very much of the focus of those tribute is where you actually saw olaf scholz standing and speaking just a moment ago. i want to show you love pictures of this

spot. it isjust show you love pictures of this spot. it is just on the other side of this market square and has become a focus for people. a lot of people standing around there, many of them in quiet contemplation. really trying to work out what has happened to the city which this time yesterday was celebrating, people in this busy and bustling market. people coming out this friday for christmas. also you can see, ijust want to show you what is happening behind me, which is where you can see christmas lights which are still twinkling and workers now starting to dismantle the christmas spirit around here. you can see these fences are being put up around here as they sealed this area. of course, we know now there will be an intensive investigation. olaf scholz said no stone will be left unturned to wake up to this man was, the suspect arrested yesterday, what his motivation may have been,

whether he did indeed work alone for whether he had support and why he was able to actually come into an area like this, an area as i was showing you, that is so fortified and protected. efforts have been made to try and protect christmas markets like this, attacks. now, we have been told that for many people and for certainly the leadership of the city, they say that christmas has been cancelled in many ways now. this will be a period of mourning for those five people killed. thoughts with those 200 that were injured, and the state premier here had this to say. translation: ladies and gentlemen, we're in the spot where a dreadful event happened. a horrible tragedy. we've just been talking to the federal chancellor and representatives from the federal government who visited the scene with them.

this is a place which will always be linked to the history of magdeburg. now it will become a site of commemoration and will enter the annals of our history in that spirit. that is really dreadful. the figures are worse than last night. we now have five fatalities. and over 200 people who are injured. many who are critically injured are badly injured. and this is an order of magnitude that none of us could have imagined. we talked to the people from the fire brigade and the emergency responders. it was quite astonishing. it was unimaginable that something like this could happen in germany

in the middle of europe. it was very important that this morning we could have a cabinet meeting in the saxony—anhalt federal government. we addressed the financial and organisational resources that we need to make available to support the victims and their loved ones. we need to support them for months and months moving forward, all of us must provide support as a society as well. i'm very grateful that the federal chancellor and his colleagues has joined us as well. we've been able to discuss at detail how we can provide support, what kind of support will come from central government as well. we're grappling with something that is really of an order of magnitude that has not yet been seen in germany. these negative consequences are quite horrendous, and the chancellor will say a few words to us in a while.

so i'd like to thank you for being with us, and thank you also to the emergency responders, the first aid teams, the ambulance teams, the fire brigade and everyone who stepped in regionally and across germany. if it hadn't been so professional in terms of the response, the situation would have been still worse, particularly in terms of the medical response. the hospitals are doing outstanding work all around us. they've made their capacities and free beds available. that was the state premierjust reflecting notjust on the victims, but also the injured. as he said, the hospital is here were in many ways overwhelmed last night. more than 200 people we now know where injured in that attack on what is a very large christmas market. ijust want what is a very large christmas market. i just want to try and give you a sense of the scale

here, because it really takes out a whole square of this city. and you can see the outside of a channel and alleyway, and on the inside of this, the stalls where people were buying food last night. and they were buying locally made goods. we know that there were children out, fairground rides, and we hear the witnesses talk about what happened here yesterday evening, you get a sense of the m evening, you get a sense of the joy and celebration and happiness that this place was suffused with stock and then in those few quick seconds when the car came off the street and into the market, 400 metres or so we know that it travelled, people thrown out of the way. when you see some of those cctv images of that car moving, you really do get the sense of the scale of this, the sides of this and why it was so devastating. and why now we are seeing lines of police vans. these are replicated all the way around this market square.

one thing i think which you can really starting to see move into action now is the investigation which olaf scholz talked about and the state premier talked about, really trying to work out how this could happen. how so many people could be injured, how five people could have been killed in an area that was supposed to be safe. efforts have been made to try and keep it as safe as possible. studio: we have seen the people coming out with the flowers and the candles. it is going to be the impact, notjust there, but across germany, because these christmas markets are so much a part of the tradition in that country, aren't they? part of the tradition in that c