BERLIN (Reuters) – A man suspected of driving a car through a Christmas market in an attack that killed at least five people and injured dozens faces charges of murder and attempted murder, German police said on Sunday, after the man was remanded in prison. Bail.
Police in the central city of Magdeburg, where the attack occurred on Friday, also reported scuffles at a far-right demonstration attended by about 2,100 people on Saturday evening, while other residents participated in somber memorial events.
The suspect is a 50-year-old Saudi man who has lived in Germany for nearly two decades.
A judge ordered the man, identified by German media as Talib A., into pretrial detention after prosecutors filed five counts of murder, multiple counts of attempted murder and grievous bodily harm, according to a police statement.
She said the dead were a nine-year-old boy and four adult women, ages 52, 45, 75 and 67.
German authorities have not named the suspect, who has permanent resident status in Germany, and media reports do not mention his full name in line with local privacy laws.
Police reported scuffles at a protest attended by about 2,100 people on Saturday evening, a day after the attack. Right-wingers described the gathering on the messaging app Telegram as a “demonstration against terrorism.”
Protesters wearing black masks were seen carrying a large banner bearing the word “reimmigration,” a popular term among far-right supporters who seek the mass deportation of immigrants and people not considered to be of German descent.
The motive behind Friday night's attack remains unclear. Investigators are investigating the suspect's criticism of German authorities' treatment of Saudi refugees, among other matters. He was also a vocal critic of Islam and expressed his support for the far-right Alternative for Germany party on the social media platform X.
