Authorities say a gap in bollards allowed the alleged attacker to drive a black BMW into the Magdeburg markets. (AP: Michael Probst)
In short:
A local fire brigade has named André Gleissner as the nine-year-old boy killed in the German market attack.
Four women were also killed in the attack, and a Saudi man, Taleb Jawad al-Abdulmohsen, is being held on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and grievous bodily harm.
Two-hundred people were injured in the attack in the city of Magdeburg.
A local fire brigade has named André Gleissner as the nine-year-old boy killed in Friday's Christmas market attack in the German city of Magdeburg.
The attack on Friday also killed four women, aged 45, 52, 67 and 75, and injured another 200 people.
Mr Gleissner was named by fire department officials in the Elm-Asse region west of Magdeburg, where he was a member of the children’s fire brigade.
Following the attack, a 50-year-old Saudi man, Taleb Jawad al-Abdulmohsen, was arrested.
Who is the suspect in the Magdeburg Christmas market attack
Photo shows a smashed up front end of a black BMW car behind police tape
He is being held on charges of murder, attempted murder and grievous bodily harm.
He has lived in Germany since 2006 and has a social media history suggesting he supported anti-Islam and far-right parties, including the Alternative for Germany (AfD).
He was critical of German authorities, saying they had failed to do enough to combat the "Islamification of Europe", according to AP.
Dr Abdulmohsen allegedly drove a black BMW into the Christmas market in Magdeburg, 130 kilometres west of Berlin.
Investigators are now piecing together the suspect's motive, as well as if intelligence agencies missed any warning signs that the attack was imminent.
The Saudi government on Saturday said it had warned German officials of Dr Abdulmohsen.
A tribute has been left near the Christmas market after the attack. (Reuters: Annegret Hilse)
The head of the Federal Criminal Police Office, Holger Münch, said the agency — Germany's equivalent of the FBI — received a warning from Saudi Arabia in November 2023, but that the information was unspecific.
Mr Münch said the suspect "published a huge number of posts on the internet", was in contact with various authorities and "made insults and even threats" — but was not known to be violent.
Germany's Federal Office for Migration and Refugees also said it had received a warning about the suspect last year.
Authorities promise investigation
Germany's Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and the heads of Germany's domestic and foreign intelligence services are expected to answer questions at parliamentary committee hearings on December 30, a senior politician told AFP.
Ms Faeser said on Sunday "no stone will be left unturned" in finding out what information had been available to security services before last Friday's attack.
She added the attacker did "not fit any previous pattern" because "he acted like an Islamist terrorist although ideologically he was clearly an enemy of Islam", according to AFP.
It comes after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz faced criticism about security lapses that allowed the attack to happen, and was heckled by some bystanders during a visit to Magdeburg on Saturday.
AP/Reuters
