Suspect in German Christmas market attack held on murder charges

BERLIN, Dec 22 (Reuters) – A man suspected of driving into a German Christmas market in an attack that killed at least five people and injured scores more faces murder and attempted murder charges, police said on Sunday. He was detained and arrested.

In the city center of Magdeburg, where Friday’s attack took place, police reported that there had been a brawl at a far-right demonstration attended by about 2,100 people on Saturday night, while other residents attended somber commemorations.

to suspect A 50-year-old man from Saudi Arabia who has been living in Germany for almost two decades.

A magistrate judge ordered the man, identified in German media as Taleb A., to be detained before trial on what prosecutors charged with five counts of murder, multiple attempted murders and infliction of grievous bodily harm, according to a police statement.

The deceased were identified as a nine-year-old boy and four adult women aged 52, 45, 75 and 67.

German authorities did not name the suspect, who has permanent resident status in Germany, and media reports did not include his full name in accordance with local privacy laws.

Police said a brawl broke out during a protest attended by about 2,100 people on Saturday night, a day after the attack. Right-wingers declared the meeting on the messaging application Telegram as a “demonstration against terrorism”.

Protesters wearing black balaclavas could be seen carrying a large banner bearing the word ‘return’, a popular term among far-right supporters who call for mass deportations of immigrants and people deemed ethnically non-German.

The reason for the attack on Friday night remains unclear. Investigators are looking into the suspect’s criticism of, among other things, German authorities’ treatment of Saudi refugees. He was also a staunch critic of Islam and had voiced his support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on the social media platform X.

Rachel More reports; Edited by Susan Fenton