German Christmas market victims including nine-year-old child and four adults, officials reveal as murder and attempted murder charges are being prepared
Four adults and a nine-year-old child have been killed in a horrific attack on a Christmas market in Germany.
Officials confirmed that at least five people were killed after a car carrying a dark BMW plowed into a huge crowd of shoppers at a Christmas market in Magdeburg at around 7pm on December 20.
At least 205 people were also injured in the horrific massacre, while the suspect, a 50-year-old Saudi doctor, has also been arrested.
Prosecutor Horst Nopens said he was under investigation on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and bodily harm. He is currently being interrogated.
The country is in mourning after Friday’s attack, with locals placing candles and tributes at the site where the car plowed into a crowd.
The motive for the attack remains unclear at this stage, although officials say the suspect’s anger over the treatment of Saudi Arabian refugees in Germany may have been a factor.
Firefighters patrolled the scene of an accident on Friday after a car plowed into a huge crowd of shoppers at a Christmas market in Magdeburg at around 7pm.
Debris and closed stalls are seen at the scene of a car ram attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg on Saturday
Officials held a news conference on Saturday where they revealed that four adults and a nine-year-old child had been killed in a horrific attack
People stand next to candles and tributes near the site where a car plowed into a crowd at a Christmas market in Magdeburg
The country is in mourning after Friday’s attack, with locals placing candles and tributes at the site where a car plowed into a crowd
Stuffed animals, candles and floral tributes lie near the spot where a car plowed into a crowd at a Christmas market in Magdeburg
Officials told a news conference on Saturday that 205 people were injured in the attack, including 41 seriously.
City official Ronni Krug said he had no further information about the adults who died.
The suspect is currently being questioned by police and it is believed he was working alone, he added.
Neurosurgeon Mahmoud Elenbaby said about 80 patients were taken to Magdeburg University Hospital on Friday evening.
Several German media identified the suspect as Taleb A., withholding his surname in accordance with privacy laws, and reported that he was a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy.
Mourners lit candles and placed flowers outside a church near the market on this cold and dreary day. Several people stopped and cried.
A Berlin church choir whose members witnessed an earlier attack on the Christmas market in 2016 sang Amazing Grace, a hymn about God’s mercy, and offered their prayers and solidarity with the victims.