It’s been a difficult 24 hours for the central German city of Magdeburg, as people continue to come to terms with the deadly attack on the annual Christmas market.
Five people, including a nine-year-old boy, died and 205 people were injured after a car ploughed into the crowd on Friday evening.
Officials said earlier on Saturday that the suspected attacker used a rescue exit with no barricades to access the market and drove for three minutes before police stopped and arrested him.
The suspect, named as 50-year-old doctor Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, is a Saudi refugee who arrived in Germany in 2006 and who openly campaigned against Islam and criticised Berlin’s immigration stance, according to German media.
BBC Security Correspondent Frank Gardner says a source close to the Saudi government reported Germany had been informed of Abdulmohsen’s “very extreme views”.
Visiting the attack scene on Saturday morning, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the attacker must be punished as he vowed officials would investigate “in depth”.
And as authorities keep their cards close to their chests when it comes to details of the ongoing investigation, locals have come together to pay their own tribute to the victims and the injured – inundating the now-closed Magdeburg Christmas market and city cathedral with flowers, candles and messages of support.
Credit: BBC/Reuters
