the suspect was placed in pre-trial detention

The suspect in the attack was remanded in custody on five counts of murder, several attempted murders and several counts of grievous bodily harm.

The investigation continues, two days after the car-ramming attack on a Christmas market which left at least five dead and more than 200 injured in Magdeburg (Germany). On Saturday, December 21, the suspect in the attack was placed in pre-trial detention for five counts of murder, several attempted murders and several counts of serious bodily injury, German police announced.

This 50-year-old man broke the crowd as they speed through the Magdeburg Christmas market. According to police, the victims of the attack are a 9-year-old child and four women aged 45, 52, 67 and 75 years old. The toll could, however, rise. “More than 40 people are very seriously injured,” with a vital prognosis, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced on Saturday, traveling to Magdeburg.

The suspect, who has lived in Germany since 2006, was known in the Saudi emigrant community in the country. He helped asylum seekers, especially women. In a tweet, he threatened Germany with “prix” to pay for its treatment of Saudi refugees. He constantly accused the country of not sufficiently protecting Saudis fleeing their country to escape a rigorous Islam, and on the other hand of welcoming radical Muslims from other countries with open arms.

In August, he wrote again on his X account: “Is there a path to justice in Germany without blowing up a German embassy or randomly slitting the throats of German citizens? I have been looking for this peaceful path since January 2019 and have not found it.” Mina Ahadi, president of the Central Council of Muslim Elders, described him as a “ultra-right conspiracy theorist psychopath”, hating all those who do not share his hatred.