Getty ImagesA man accused of murdering four women and a nine-year-old boy by driving a car into them at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg has been remanded in custody.
The 50-year-old man appeared in Magdeburg District Court on Saturday night following the incident on Friday, when a black BMW plowed through the crowded market, injuring more than 200 people.
Magdeburg police said investigations are ongoing and officers are appealing for witnesses to send photos or videos of the incident.
The suspect has been named in local media as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, a 50-year-old Saudi national who arrived in Germany in 2006. and worked as a doctor.
On Sunday morning, police in Magdeburg confirmed that four women – aged 45, 52, 67 and 75 – were also killed in the incident.
“The judge ordered pre-trial detention for five murders, multiple attempted murders and multiple grievous bodily harm,” the statement said.
City officials said about 100 police, medics and firefighters, as well as 50 rescue workers, went to the scene shortly after 7:00 p.m. local time (18:00 GMT) on Friday.
ReutersWitnesses told how during the attack they had to jump out of the way of the car.
In an interview with German newspaper Bild, a woman named Nadine described being at the Christmas market with her boyfriend Marco when the car sped towards them.
“He was hit and pulled away from my side,” the 32-year-old told the paper. “It was terrible.”
Lars Frommüller, a reporter for German public broadcaster MDR, told BBC Radio 4's World Tonight that he saw “blood on the floor” as well as “a lot of doctors trying to warm people up and help them with their injuries”.
A memorial service for the victims of the attack was held at Magdeburg Cathedral on Saturday evening
The service was attended by victims' families, emergency workers and representatives of the federal government, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Getty ImagesDuring a visit to the market earlier on Saturday, Scholz described the attack as a “terrible tragedy” because “so many people were injured and killed with such brutality” in what was supposed to be a “joyful” place.
He told reporters there were grave concerns for those who were critically injured and that “all resources” would be directed at investigating the suspect behind the attack.
Earlier, Rainer Haseloff, the prime minister of Saxony-Anhalt state, said a preliminary investigation suggested the alleged attacker acted alone.
Prosecutor Horst Walter Knopens said on Saturday that the investigation was continuing, but suggested that one potential motive for the attack “could be dissatisfaction with the way Saudi refugees in Germany have been treated”.
Al-Abdulmohsen is believed to have entered the market through an entrance that was reserved for emergency vehicles, police said.
The suspect is a psychiatrist who lives in Bernburg, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Magdeburg.
Originally from Saudi Arabia, al-Abdulmohsen arrived in Germany in 2006. and in 2016 was recognized as a refugee.
He ran a website aimed at helping other ex-Muslims flee persecution in their Gulf homeland.
The suspected attacker has no known links to Islamic extremism. His social media and posts seem to suggest that he was critical of Islam.
A source close to the Saudi government told the BBC it had sent four official notifications, known as “Notes Verbales”, to German authorities warning them of what they said were the “very extreme views” held by Al-Abdulmohsen.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said those notices were ignored.
However, another senior counter-terrorism expert said the Saudis may be mounting a disinformation campaign to discredit someone who tried to help young Saudi women seek asylum in Germany.
Additional reporting by Frank Gardner.