German Christmas market suspect taken into custody by judge

A 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 was brought before the Magdeburg regional court on Saturday evening after a black BMW car raced through the crowded market on Friday, injuring more than 200 people.

Magdeburg police said the investigation is ongoing and officers are asking witnesses to send in photos or videos of the incident.

The suspect was named in local media as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, a 50-year-old Saudi citizen who came to 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 pre-trial detention for five counts of murder, multiple counts of attempted murder and multiple counts of grievous bodily harm,” the statement said.

City officials said around 100 police officers, paramedics and firefighters, as well as 50 rescue workers, were at the scene shortly after 7:00 p.m. local time (6:00 p.m. GMT) on Friday.

Witnesses reported having to jump out of the way of the car during the attack.

In an interview with Germany’s Bild newspaper, a woman named Nadine described how she was at the Christmas market with her boyfriend Marco when the car sped towards them.

“He was hit and ripped away from my side,” the 32-year-old told the newspaper. “It was terrible.”

Lars Frohmüller, a reporter for German public broadcaster MDR, told BBC Radio 4’s “World Tonight” program that he saw “blood on the floor” as well as “a lot of doctors trying to keep people warm and with them to help their injuries.”

On Saturday evening, a memorial service for the victims of the attack took place in Magdeburg Cathedral

Families of the victims, rescue workers and federal government officials, including Chancellor Olaf Scholz, took part in the service.

During a market visit earlier Saturday, Scholz described the attack as a “terrible tragedy” because “so many people were injured and killed with such brutality” in a place that was supposed to be “joyful.”

He told reporters that there was grave concern about those seriously injured and that “all resources” were being devoted to investigating the suspect behind the attack.

Saxony-Anhalt’s Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff had previously stated that the initial investigation had shown that the alleged attacker had acted alone.

Prosecutor Horst Walter Nopens said on Saturday that the investigation was still ongoing, but suggested that a possible motive for the attack could have been “dissatisfaction with the way Saudi Arabian refugees are treated in Germany.”

According to the police, Al-Abdulmohsen drove into the market via an entrance that was reserved for emergency vehicles.

The suspect is a psychiatrist who lived in Bernburg, about 40 kilometers south of Magdeburg.

Al-Abdulmohsen, originally from Saudi Arabia, came to Germany in 2006 and was recognized as a refugee in 2016.

He ran a website aimed at helping other former Muslims fleeing persecution in their Gulf homelands.

The suspected attacker has no known ties to Islamist extremism. His social media and posts appear to indicate that he has been critical of Islam.

A source close to the Saudi government told the BBC that it had sent four official communications called “Notes Verbal” to the German authorities warning them about al-Abdulmohsen’s alleged “very extreme views.”

The source, who did not want to be named, said those notifications were ignored.

But another veteran counterterrorism expert said the Saudis may be launching a disinformation campaign to discredit someone who tried to help young Saudi women seek asylum in Germany.

Additional reporting: Frank Gardner.