A man suspected of driving a car into a German Christmas market in an attack that killed at least five people and injured dozens more is charged with murder and attempted murder, police said on Sunday after the man's provisional arrest.
Police in the central city of Magdeburg, where Friday's attack took place, also reported fighting during a far-right demonstration that drew about 2,100 people on Saturday evening, while other residents took part in somber memorial events.
The suspect is a 50-year-old man from Saudi Arabia who has been living in Germany for almost twenty years.
According to a police statement, the judge ordered the man placed in pre-trial detention after prosecutors charged him with five counts of murder, multiple attempted murders and grievous bodily harm.
It was determined that the deceased was a nine-year-old boy and four adult women aged 52, 45, 75 and 67.
German authorities have not released the name of the suspect, who has permanent resident status in Germany, and local media reports have not released his full name, in line with local privacy laws. However, international media, including BBC News and the Guardian, identify the accused as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen.
The suspect's X account describes him as a former Muslim. It is filled with tweets and retweets focusing on anti-Islam themes and criticism of the religion, while also sharing congratulatory messages for Muslims who have left the faith. He was critical of the German authorities, claiming that they had not done enough to fight the “Islamification of Europe”. He also expressed support for the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Police reported fights at the protest, which drew about 2,100 people on Saturday evening, the day after the attack. Right-wingers called the gathering via the Telegram messenger a “demonstration against terrorism.”
Protesters wearing black balaclavas could be seen carrying a large banner reading “reemigration”, a term popular among far-right supporters demanding the mass deportation of migrants and people considered to be ethnically non-German.
The motive for Friday's attack remains unclear.
