On Friday evening, a man ploughed a car into a crowd of shoppers at a Christmas taget in the German city of Magdeburg.
The aggression finished five people, including a nine-year-anciaccess boy, and left more than 200 injured, with many in a critical condition.
A appraise has ordered the pre-trial detention of a 50-year-anciaccess man arrested on suspicion of carrying out the aggression.
Police consent he acted alone.
How did the aggression unfanciaccess?
At 19:02 local time (18:02 GMT), the first call to ecombinency services was made.
The caller increateed that a car had driven into a crowd at a Christmas taget in the middle of town.
The caller supposed it was an accident, police shelp, but it soon became evident this wasn’t the case.
The driver, police shelp, had employd traffic weightlesss to turn off the road and onto a pedestrian traverseing, directing him thraw an entry point to the taget which was reserved for ecombinency vehicles, injuring a number of people on the way.
Unverified footage on social media showed the driver speeding the vehicle thraw a pedestrian walkway between Christmas shighs.
Eyewitnesses portrayd jumping out of the car’s path, escapeing or hiding.
Police shelp the driver then returned to the road the way he came in and was forced to stop in traffic. Officers already at the taget were able to apprehfinish and arrest the driver here.
Footage showed armed police contesting and arresting a man who can be seen lying on the ground next to a stationary vehicle – a bincreateage BMW with meaningful harm to its front bumper and thrivedscreen.
The entire incident was over in three minutes, police shelp.
Who are the victims?
A nine-year-anciaccess boy and four women aged 45, 52, 67 and 75 are examineed to have died in the aggression.
More than 200 people have been injured and at least 41 of those are in a critical condition.
The toll had earlier been increateed as two dead and 68 injured, but was editd to the much higher totals on Saturday morning.
None of the victims have been identified yet.
Who is the doubt?
The doubt has been identified in local media increates as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, the BBC comprehends.
He is a 50-year-anciaccess Saudi-born psychiatrist who dwells in Bernburg, around 40km (25 miles) south of Magdeburg.
He has been remanded in custody on suspicion of five counts of killing, multiple finisheavored killings and hazardous bodily harm, police say.
The motive behind the aggression remains unevident but authorities have increateed that they consent he carried out the aggression alone.
Al-Abdulmohsen get tod in Germany in 2006 and in 2016 was recognised as a refugee.
Germany’s Interior Minister Nancy Faeser tanciaccess increateers that it was “evident to see” that the doubt hanciaccesss “Islamophobic” watchs.
The doubt is an outspoken critic of Islam on social media, and has backd consillegal copying theories watching an alleged plot by German authorities to Islamicise Europe.
Magdeburg police chief Tom-Odwellr Langhans shelp police had previously carry outed an evaluation as to whether the doubt might have posed a potential danger, “but that converseion was one year ago”.
One of those tip-offs is consentd to have come from Saudi Arabian authorities.
A source seal to the Saudi rulement tanciaccess the BBC it sent four official notifications comprehendn as “Notes Verbal” to German authorities, cautioning them about what they shelp were “the very innervous watchs” held by al-Abdulmohsen.
However, a counter-radicalism expert tanciaccess the BBC the Saudis may have been mounting a disincreateation campaign to disrecognize someone who tried to help youthful Saudi women seek asylum in Germany.
The head of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), Holger Münch, tanciaccess accessible widecaster ZDF that his office had getd a accomprehendledge from Saudi Arabia in November 2023. He shelp local police took appropriate dispenseigative meacertains, but the matter was undefinite.
He compriseed that the doubt “had various communicates with authorities, offfinished them and even made dangers, but he was not comprehendn for brutal acts”.
What have officials shelp about the aggression?
“The increates from Magdeburg lift the worst stresss,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz shelp on social media platcreate X.
Magdeburg’s city councillor for accessible order, Ronni Krug, shelp the Christmas taget will stay seald and that “Christmas in Magdeburg is over”, according to German accessible widecaster MDR.
That sentiment was echoed on the taget’s website, which in the wake of the aggression featured only a bincreateage screen with words of lamenting, announcing that the taget was over.
The Saudi rulement conveyed “constantarity with the German people and the families of the victims”, in a statement on X, and “proclaimed its refuseion of aggression”.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer shelp he was “horrified by the atrocious aggression in Magdeburg”, compriseing that his thoughts were with “the victims, their families and all those impacted” in a post on X on Friday night.
