The suspect in the alleged car-ramming attack on a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg, arrested at the scene, is a 50-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia, local authorities said on Friday.
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“We have arrested the perpetrator” of the alleged attack and “he is a man from Saudi Arabia who works as a doctor here” in the Saxony-Anhalt region, said the head of the regional government, Reiner Haseloff, specifying that the suspect had “acted alone”.
The man has lived in Germany since 2006. He worked in the town of Bernburg, south of Magdeburg, German media Welt reported.
He was not known to the authorities and there was no information about him regarding any form of affiliation with Islamist groups.
The suspect had a permanent residence permit, Interior Minister Tamara Zieschang said.
During the day on Friday, the man rented a car just before the crime and then drove to the Magdeburg Christmas market, according to information from Welt.
Luggage was also reportedly found on the passenger side seat. For the moment, the German media does not have information on its content, but the possibility that it could contain explosives has not been ruled out by the authorities.
The suspect was arrested in Ernst-Reuter-Allee in Magdeburg, not far from the scene of the attack.
A video of the arrest is circulating on social media showing the man lying face down on the ground.
In the images, we see the police approaching the doctor with their weapons drawn.
“Be careful, don't get too close,” one of the officers can be heard saying, unsure whether the man might be carrying explosives, Welt said.
–With the collaboration of AFP
