Medical waste from first responders can still be seen at the now-closed Christmas market. (Reuters: Christian Mang)
In short:
Authorities have revealed a nine-year-old child was among the five people killed in Friday night's attack at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg.
A senior German minister said the suspected driver in the car-ramming attack harboured "Islamophobic views".
German prosecutors say murder and attempted murder charges are being prepared against the alleged attacker.
A nine-year-old child is among the five people killed in Friday's Christmas market car attack in the German city of Magdeburg, authorities say.
Another 200 people were injured in the attack, when a black BMW ploughed into the crowd.
A 50-year-old Saudi doctor, who authorities later said was an outspoken critic of Islam, was arrested at the scene.Â
On Saturday evening, Magdeburg prosecutor Horst Walter Nopens said charges of murder, attempted murder and grievous bodily harm were being prepared against the alleged driver.
Authorities are investigating the suspect, who police have not named, but officials say he had a history of anti-Islam rhetoric.
Mr Horst said a potential motive for the crime "could have been disgruntlement with the way Saudi Arabian refugees are treated in Germany".
Hans Goldenbaum, who works for a local German organisation for preventing violence and radicalisation, told Reuters the suspect had been known for his "anti-Islamic" rhetoric online.
Multiple news organisations, including Der Spiegel magazine, reported the suspect had sympathies with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the suspect was Islamophobic, but she declined to comment on the motive.
Germany 'shocked' as chancellor visits scene
On Saturday, debris and discarded medical materials blew across the cordoned-off site of the Magdeburg market.
Stalls were seen standing empty around a giant Christmas tree, with the event cancelled for the year out of respect for the victims.
Flowers and tributes are being left at a church near where the attack took place. (AP: Ebrahim Noorozi)
At the nearby Johanneskirche Church, mourning and bereaved residents have left candles, flowers, cards and children's toys.
A memorial service was planned for Saturday evening.
Earlier on Saturday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and a number of other political leaders visited the attack site.
Mr Scholz pledged the state would respond "with the full force of the law" to the attack.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says authorities will use all resources available to investigate the attack. (Reuters: Christian Mang)
He also called for unity as Germany has been rocked by a heated debate on immigration and security ahead of elections in February.
Security was stepped up Saturday at Christmas markets elsewhere in Germany, with more police seen in Hamburg, Leipzig and other cities.
Local resident and engineer Michael Raarig, 67, said the attack had left him "shocked" and saddened.
"I never would have believed this could happen, here in an east German provincial town."
AFP/Reuters
