Germans have come together in Magdeburg to honor the victims of a tragic car-ramming incident in the eastern city, which claimed the lives of at least five individuals and left 200 injured.
Officials reported that a physician deliberately drove into a bustling outdoor Christmas market on Friday evening, resulting in the deaths of four women and a nine-year-old child, with 41 others sustaining severe injuries that might increase the fatality count.
On Saturday at 7:04 pm (18:04 GMT), coinciding with the time of the previous day’s attack, church bells resonated throughout Magdeburg.
A memorial service was held in the city’s cathedral, primarily for the victims’ relatives, emergency responders, and distinguished guests, including German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Those unable to attend the service congregated outside the cathedral, watching the proceedings on a large outdoor screen.
Meanwhile, several hundred people assembled in the city’s central square to lay flowers and light candles in remembrance.
Among the crowd were individuals displaying banners with far-right slogans, highlighting the deep shock felt across Magdeburg, a city of about 240,000 people located 130 km (80 miles) west of Berlin.
This violent act prompted several other German locales to cancel their weekend Christmas markets as a precaution and to show solidarity with Magdeburg.
Berlin, however, kept its numerous markets open, albeit with heightened police surveillance.
Investigations into the attacker’s motives are ongoing.
Authorities have detained a 50-year-old immigrant from Saudi Arabia, who identifies as a critic of Islam and surrendered to police at the scene.
The man faces charges of five counts of murder and 205 counts of attempted murder, as stated by prosecutor Horst Walter Nopens during a press briefing.
Investigators are exploring whether the attack was driven by the doctor’s dissatisfaction with Germany’s treatment of Saudi refugees, Nopens added.
A government office reported that German authorities had been alerted to the suspect last year.
“This was taken seriously, like every other of the numerous tips,” the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees said Sunday on X about the tip it received in the late summer of last year.
However, the office clarified that it does not conduct investigations itself; instead, it forwards such information to the relevant authorities as per standard procedures. No further details about the suspect or the warnings were provided.
Although the police have not officially disclosed the suspect’s identity, multiple German news sources have named him as Taleb A, noting his expertise in psychiatry and psychotherapy.
According to posts on his X profile, he appeared to support anti-Islam and far-right factions, including Alternative for Germany.
A source from Saudi Arabia informed the agency that warnings had been issued to German officials about the suspect following his posting of extremist content on X, posing a threat to peace and security.
Last year, German state and federal criminal investigators assessed the risk posed by the man and concluded he represented “no specific danger,” as reported by the Welt newspaper, citing security sources.
In recent years, Germany has experienced several attacks, such as a knife attack at a festival in Solingen last August, which resulted in three deaths and eight injuries.
The recent attack also follows a tragic incident eight years ago when a man drove a truck into a packed Christmas market in Berlin, killing 13 and injuring many. The assailant was later killed in a shootout in Italy.
