NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – The NYPD increased security measures as a precaution after a car drove into a Christmas market in Germany on Friday, killing at least two people and injuring about 60 others, officials said.
"The NYPD has been closely monitoring recent events in Germany and coordinating with federal and international partners," an NYPD spokesperson said. "While we have not identified any specific or credible threats to New York City at this time, resources have been deployed to various Christmas markets and other locations throughout the city out of an abundance of caution."
While there is no direct connection between the Germany attack and New York City, officials are taking proactive steps to ensure public safety.
The attack in Magdeburg, Germany happened around 7 p.m. when a car barreled into a busy outdoor Christmas market filled with holiday shoppers. The driver, a 50-year-old Saudi doctor who has lived in Germany since 2006, was arrested shortly afterward, according to Tamara Zieschang, the interior minister for Saxony-Anhalt.
The suspect, who has been practicing medicine in Bernburg, about 23 miles from Magdeburg, is believed to have acted alone. "As things stand, he is a lone perpetrator, so that as far as we know, there is no further danger to the city," Saxony-Anhalt Governor Reiner Haseloff said at a news conference.
Fifteen of the injured are in critical condition, according to government officials and local authorities.
In response to vehicle-ramming incidents, the NYPD usually deploys sanitation trucks and other vehicles to block intersections at major events like the New Year's Eve ball drop in Times Square and other large-scale gatherings.
