Getty ImagesA man accused of killing four women and a nine-year-old boy by driving them to a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg has been remanded in custody.
The 50-year-old suspect was brought before the Magdeburg district court on Saturday night following an incident on Friday in which a black BMW drove into a busy market and injured more than 200 people.
The Magdeburg police said that the investigation is still ongoing and the police are asking witnesses to send pictures or video of the incident.
The suspect was named in local media as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, 50, a 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 – also died in the incident.
“The judge ordered that he be detained before trial on five counts of murder, attempted multiple murders and charges of wounding,” said its statement.
City officials said around 100 police, paramedics and firefighters, as well as 50 rescue workers, went to the scene shortly after 19:00 local time (18:00 GMT) on Friday.
ReutersWitnesses described how they had to jump out of the way of the car when they were attacked.
In an interview with the German newspaper Bild, a woman called Nadine explained that she was at the Christmas market with her boyfriend Marco when a car came running towards them.
“He was beaten and removed from my side,” said the 32-year-old man, telling this newspaper. “It was bad.”
Lars Frohmüller, a reporter for German public broadcaster MDR, told BBC Radio 4’s World Tonight program that he saw “blood on the floor” and “many 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 night
The service was attended by families of the victims, emergency workers and federal government officials, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Getty ImagesDuring a visit to the market early Saturday, Scholz described the attack as a “terrible tragedy” as “many people were injured and killed so brutally” in a place that should be “happy”.
He told reporters that there is great concern for those who were seriously injured and said that all resources will be used to investigate the suspect who committed the incident.
Earlier, Reiner Haseloff, the prime minister of the state of Saxony-Anhalt, said that the initial investigation revealed that the suspect acted alone.
Prosecutor Horst Walter Nopens said on Saturday that the investigation was ongoing but suggested that another possible reason for the attack “may have been dissatisfaction with the way Saudi Arabian refugees are being treated in Germany”.
Al-Abdulmohsen is thought to have entered the market through an entrance reserved for emergency vehicles, police said.
The suspect is a psychiatrist who lived in Bernburg, 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Magdeburg.
Originally from Saudi Arabia, al-Abdulmohsen came to Germany in 2006 and in 2016 was recognized as a refugee.
He created a website that aims to help other ex-Muslims fleeing persecution in their Gulf countries.
The suspected attacker does not belong to the Muslim religion. In social media and his writings it seems that he has been criticizing Islam.
A source close to the Saudi government told the BBC it had sent four official notices known as “Notes Verbal” to German authorities, warning of what it said were “extremist views” held by al-Abdulmohsen.
The source, who asked not to be named, said these notices were ignored.
However, one expert with experience in counter-terrorism said that the Saudis may be launching a disinformation campaign to discredit someone who tried to help young Saudi women seek asylum in Germany.
Additional reporting by Frank Gardner.
Source link
