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Getty ImagesA man accused of killing four women and a nine-year-old boy by driving them through a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg has been jailed.
A 50-year-old man was brought to court in Magdeburg on Saturday evening following Friday’s incident in which a black BMW drove through a crowded market and injured more than 200 people.
Magdeburg police say the investigation is ongoing and police are appealing for witnesses to send photos or video of the incident.
The suspect was identified 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, Magdeburg police confirmed that four women – aged 45, 52, 67 and 75 – were also killed in the incident.
“The judge ordered that he be detained pending trial on five counts of murder, multiple counts of attempted murder and multiple counts of wounding,” he said.
City officials said around 100 police, paramedics and firefighters, as well as 50 rescue workers, went to the scene just after 19:00 local time (18:00 GMT) on Friday.
Witnesses described how he jumped into the vehicle’s path during the attack.
In an interview with the German newspaper Bild, a woman named Nadine explained that she was at the Christmas market with her boyfriend Marco when the car came speeding towards them.
“He was beaten and taken from my side,” the 32-year-old told the newspaper. “It was terrible.”
Lars Frohmüller, a reporter for German broadcaster MDR, told BBC Radio 4’s World Tonight program that he saw “blood on the floor” and “many doctors trying to burn people and treat their injuries”.
A memorial service for the victims of the attack was held on Saturday evening at Magdeburg Cathedral
The service was attended by victims’ families, emergency workers and government officials, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Getty ImagesDuring a visit to the market early on Saturday, Scholz described the attack as a “terrible tragedy” where “many people were injured and killed with such brutality” in what was supposed to be a “happy” place.
He told the media that there is great concern for the people who have been seriously injured and that “everything” will be given to investigate the person who carried out the attack.
Earlier, Reiner Haseloff, the prime minister of the state of Saxony-Anhalt, said a preliminary investigation showed that the shooter acted alone.
