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A man suspected of driving a car into a German Christmas market in an attack that killed at least five people and injured many others is facing charges of murder and attempted murder, police said Sunday after the man was taken into custody.
Police in the central city of Magdeburg, where the attack took place on Friday, also reported fighting at far-right protests attended by around 2,100 people on Saturday night, while other residents took part in somber commemoration events.
The suspect is a 50-year-old man from Saudi Arabia who has lived in Germany for almost two decades.
A judge ordered the man into pretrial detention after prosecutors charged him with five counts of murder, multiple counts of attempted murder and grievous bodily harm, according to a police statement.
He identified the dead as a nine-year-old boy and four adult women aged 52, 45, 75 and 67.
The German government is promising a full investigation into security lapses after a deadly car attack that killed five people at a Christmas market in Magdeburg on Friday. The call comes as people pay their respects to the dead, including a nine-year-old boy.
German authorities have not named the suspect, who is a permanent resident of Germany, and local media are not releasing his full name in accordance with local privacy laws.
International media, including BBC News and the Guardian, however, identify the accused as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen.
The suspect’s X account describes him as a former Muslim. It is full of tweets and retweets that focus on anti-Islamic themes and criticism of the faith, while congratulating Muslims who have left the faith.
He was critical of the German authorities, saying they had not done enough to combat the “Islamification of Europe”. He also expressed support for the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Police reported fighting at a protest attended by about 2,100 people on Saturday night, the day after the attack. Right-wing activists billed the gathering on the Telegram messaging app as “demonstrations against terrorism.”
Protesters wearing black balaclavas could be seen holding a large banner with the word “remigration”, a term popular among far-right supporters who call for the mass deportation of migrants and people not considered to be German.
The motive for Friday night’s attack remains unclear.
