50-year-old man accused of attack in Germany jailed – What authorities are looking at – The evidence they have collected so far
The 50-year-old man who caused death at Magdeburg’s Christmas market on Friday night, killing at least five people including a nine-year-old child and injuring more than 200 when he drove his car into the crowd, has been remanded in custody.
The 50-year-old was brought before a judge on Saturday afternoon following the incident.
Magdeburg police said investigations are continuing and officers are appealing for witnesses to send photos or videos of the incident.
The suspect has been named in local media as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, a 50-year-old Saudi national who arrived in Germany in 2006 and had worked as a doctor.
On Sunday morning, Magdeburg police confirmed that four women – aged 45, 52, 67 and 75 – were killed in the incident.
“The judge ordered his pre-trial detention for five murders, multiple attempted murders and multiple counts of grievous bodily harm,” stated in her announcement.
City officials said about 100 police, medics and firefighters, as well as 50 emergency service personnel, went to the scene shortly after 19:00 local time (18:00 GMT) on Friday.
Witnesses described how they had to jump out of the car’s mad dash during the attack.
A memorial service was held for the victims of the Magdeburg Cathedral attack on Saturday night. The service was attended by families of the victims, emergency workers and federal government officials, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. During his visit to the market earlier on Saturday, Soltz described the attack as a “terrible tragedy” as “so many people were injured and killed with such brutality” in a place that was supposed to “offer joy”.
He told reporters there were grave concerns for those seriously injured and that “all resources” would be devoted to investigating the suspect to determine his motives. According to his previous posts, the 50-year-old suspect had a history of making anti-Islam statements and had helped people, particularly women, flee Saudi Arabia.
Earlier, Rainer Hasselof, the premier of the state of Saxony-Anhalt, said the preliminary investigation suggested that the alleged perpetrator acted alone.
Prosecutor Horst Walter Knoppens said Saturday that the investigation is ongoing, but argued that a possible motive for the attack “it could have been dissatisfaction with the way Saudi refugees are treated in Germany”.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry issued a statement condemning the attack after it was revealed that the suspect was a Saudi national.
Source :Skai
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