The nine-year-old boy who is among five people killed in the car-ramming attack on a German Christmas market has been named, as thousands of pounds were raised for his grieving family.
In a heartbreaking social media post, the mother of André Gleißner paid tribute to her son, saying: “Let my little teddy bear fly around the world again. André didn’t do anything to anybody. He was only with us on earth for nine years. Why you? Just why?”
A GoFundMe page set up to support the family has already raised close to £50,000, with its organisers describing André as having a “cheerful smile and joy for life” and lamenting that he will never be able to open his Christmas presents.
Meanwhile, the Saudi doctor accused of driving into the market in Magdeburg has appeared in court, as anger over alleged security failings grows.
Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, 50, was remanded in police custody after appearing in front of a judge on Saturday evening.
In a statement, Magdeburg police said: “The judge ordered pre-trial detention for five counts of murder, multiple attempted murder and multiple counts of dangerous bodily harm,” its statement said.
Key Points
- ‘My little teddy bear’: Mother’s tribute to nine-year-old boy killed in attack
- Nearly £50,000 raised in support of young boy’s grieving family
- Far-right gather in Magdeburg
- Suspect remanded in custody
- What we know so far about the suspect
Italy increases security at Christmas markets after Germany attack
03:45
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Italian authorities have urged police stations across the country to increase security at Christmas markets following the deadly attack in the German city of Magdeburg.
The letter sent to the police calls for the “immediate strengthening” of security in areas “that are most attractive from a touristic and commercial standpoint”.
Saudi doctor charged with murder
03:31
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The suspect in the German Christmas market shooting has been charged with murder and attempted murder, according to reports.
Authorities have identified the suspect as a Saudi doctor who arrived in Germany in 2006 and had received permanent residency.
He remains in custody as authorities investigate him.
Watch: Far-right protesters rally in Magdeburg after German Christmas market attack
03:04
Andy Gregory
Christmas markets a cherished part of German culture
02:06
Andy Gregory
Christmas markets are a huge part of German culture as an annual holiday tradition cherished since the Middle Ages and successfully exported to much of the Western world.
In Berlin alone, more than 100 markets opened late last month and brought the smells of mulled wine, roasted almonds and bratwurst to the capital.
Other markets abound across the country.
‘Children screaming, crying for mama’: Eyewitness returns to scene to pay respects
01:10
Andy Gregory
Andrea Reis, who had been at the market on Friday, returned on Saturday with her daughter Julia to lay a candle by the church overlooking the site. She said that had it not been for a matter of moments, they may have been in the car’s path.
“I said, ‘let’s go and get a sausage’, but my daughter said ‘no let’s keep walking around’. If we’d stayed where we were we’d have been in the car’s path,” she said.
Tears ran down her face as she described the scene. “Children screaming, crying for mama. You can’t forget that,” she said.
UK Christmas market has reviewed its security in wake of Magdeburg attack
00:17
Andy Gregory
One of the UK’s biggest Christmas markets said it has reviewed its security processes in the wake of the attack on a German Christmas market which left five people dead and more than 200 injured.
Birmingham’s Frankfurt Christmas Market’s security processes were reviewed and discussed with a police security adviser after a BMW ploughed into customers at the busy festive market in Magdeburg on Friday evening.
It said no changes are required and all staff remain vigilant.
Witness says husband spent hours helping attack victims
Sunday 22 December 2024 23:28
Andy Gregory
Thi Linh Chi Nguyen, a manicurist from Vietnam whose salon is situated close to the Christmas market, was on the phone during a break when she heard loud bangs that she thought were fireworks.
She then saw a car drive through the market at high speed. People screamed and a child was thrown into the air by the car.
Shaking as she described what she had witnessed, the 34-year-old recalled seeing the car bursting out of the market and turning right onto Ernst-Reuter-Allee street and then coming to a standstill at the tram stop where the suspect was arrested.
“My husband and I helped [those injured] for two hours,” she told the Associated Press. “He ran back home and grabbed as many blankets as he could find because they didn’t have enough to cover the injured people. And it was so cold.”
50% rise in reports to anti-terror hotline in UK this year, police say
Sunday 22 December 2024 22:50
Andy Gregory
Earlier this week, Metropolitan Police deputy assistant commissioner Jon Savell said police are “relying on the public” to spot suspected terror activity during the festive period, as this year has seen a 50 per cent rise in suspicious activity reports made to the anti-terror hotline.
The cause of the spike is uncertain but contacts are making a difference to investigations, according to Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP).
There were 52 more arrests for terrorism offences last year than in 2022 – an increase of 31 per cent and the highest number in a single year since 2019.
Christmas shopping, festive markets, pantomimes and concerts could attract terror activity, CTP warned, as it reminded people “everyone has a role to play in keeping each other safe” by spotting and reporting suspicious activity.
CTP previously said it had more than 800 investigations under way, most in partnership with MI5, and that it was working with intelligence services at MI5 and GCHQ to understand and prevent radicalisation.
It has stopped 43 late-stage attacks from taking place alongside MI5, three of which were in the last 12 months.
Who is the German Christmas market attack suspect?
Sunday 22 December 2024 22:13
Andy Gregory
The suspect is a 50-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia, named by German media as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen. On Saturday evening, he was remanded into custody after appearing in court.
Authorities confirmed that he first came to Germany in 2006 and later gained refugee status in 2016.
Local media reported that he had shown support for the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD), with a Saudi source telling Reuters that the kingdom had warned German authorities about the attacker, who the source said had posted extremist views on his personal X account.
A German security source told the news agency that tips sent by the Saudi authorities in 2023 and 2024 had been passed on to the relevant authorities. Newspaper Die Welt cited security sources as saying that a risk assessment conducted by state and federal investigators concluded that the man posed “no specific danger”.
My colleague Athena Stavrou has more details in this report:
Whatever the aim, the German Christmas market attack will surely make the West more divided
Sunday 22 December 2024 21:39
Andy Gregory
The confounding picture of Taleb A. makes his aims while behind the wheel on Friday night all the more muddy. But for too many people and politicians, the identity of the perpetrator as an Arab will be enough, Mark Almond writes:
Suspect had not worked since October
Sunday 22 December 2024 21:10
Andy Gregory
The clinic where the suspect is believed to have worked released a statement following Friday night’s attack.
Posting on Instagram, the Salus-Fachklinikum Bernburg clinic said it was “shocked to learn that the alleged perpetrator worked as a specialist doctor in our enforcement in Bernburg”.
It added that the suspect had been employed there as a psychiatric specialist since March 2020, but he had not been working since October due to illness and holiday.
“We have been supporting the work of the investigative authorities in every possible way since the late hours,” it added.
Germany’s foreign minister says Christmas markets must be ‘places of solidarity'
Sunday 22 December 2024 20:40
Andy Gregory
Germany’s foreign minister Annalena Baerbock has stressed that Christmas markets should continue to be “places of solidarity and togetherness in society”, in comments to the dpa press agency.
The attack at Magdeburg has prompted several other towns to cancel their weekend Christmas markets as a precaution and out of solidarity. Berlin – which suffered a 2016 attack at a church market in which 12 people were killed and 49 injured – kept its markets open but increased the police presence.
Germany’s interior minister calls for tighter domestic security laws
Sunday 22 December 2024 20:11
Andy Gregory
Germany’s interior minister has called for parliament to urgently adopt drafted laws to tighten domestic security in the country.
Speaking to the Spiegel newspaper, Nancy Faeser said: “It is clear that we must do everything we can to protect the people of Germany from such horrific acts of violence. To do this, our security authorities need all the necessary powers and more personnel.”
Gun laws and security powers were tightened following August’s mass stabbing in Solingen, in which three people were killed and for which Isis claimed responsibility. However, Ms Faeser claimed further legislation such as a new federal police act and moves to introduce biometric surveillance were blocked primarily by her former coalition partners in the FDP.
“All of these bills of ours could be passed immediately if the Union and FDP do not refuse to do so,” Ms Faeser claimed, despite her party having lost its parliamentary majority ahead of the new year and looming elections in February.
Nine-year-old victim’s family to share fundraiser proceeds with fellow bereaved and survivors
Sunday 22 December 2024 19:49
Andy Gregory
The family of nine-year-old André Gleissner will share the proceeds of an online fundraiser with the families of other victims, after a GoFundMe set up by a family friend raised tens of thousands of pounds.
Describing André’s family as “simply overwhelmed” by the donations, which are to help towards funeral costs, the page’s organiser initially paused the fundraiser after “so much money was raised that we never expected”.
But in a later update, the organiser said they had reopened the option to donate after receiving a flood of requests from members of the public who wished to do so, adding that André’s family intend to pass on a large part of the donations to the other victims who died or were injured in the attack.
The fundraiser has so far raised nearly €65,000 (£53,000).
Perpetrator ‘does not fit any existing mould’, minister says
Sunday 22 December 2024 19:22
Andy Gregory
Germany’s interior minister Nancy Faeser has vowed that the criminal investigation into Friday’s attack would leave no stone unturned.
“The task is to piece together all findings and paint a picture of this perpetrator, who does not fit any existing mould,” Ms Faeser said.
“This perpetrator acted in an unbelievably cruel and brutal manner – like an Islamist terrorist, although he was clearly ideologically hostile to Islam,” she added.
The suspect had been strongly critical of German authorities as well as Islam in the past. He had also appeared in a number of media interviews in recent years reporting on his work helping Saudi Arabians who had turned their back on Islam to flee to Europe.
He had voiced support on social media platform X for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and for US billionaire Elon Musk, who has backed the AfD.
Sea of floral tributes laid at church close to scene of attack
Sunday 22 December 2024 19:04
Andy Gregory
A sea of flowers stretched out in front of St John’s Church in Magdeburg, close to the scene of the crime, which attracted a steady stream of tearful mourners over the weekend.
“This is my second time here. I was here yesterday. I brought flowers and it moved me so much and I had to know today how many flowers were brought,” local resident Ingolf Klinzmann told Reuters.
A sign commemorating the victims bore in large lettering the word “Why?”.
‘Minor disturbances’ as far-right demonstrates in Magdeburg
Sunday 22 December 2024 18:47
Andy Gregory
There were scuffles and some “minor disturbances” at a far-right demonstration attended by around 2,100 people on Saturday night in Magdeburg, police said. They added that criminal proceedings would follow, but did not give details.
Protesters, some wearing black balaclavas, held up a large banner with the word “remigration”, a term popular with supporters of the far right who seek the mass deportation of immigrants and people they deem not ethnically German.
Questions over suspect’s past posts on X
Sunday 22 December 2024 18:29
Andy Gregory
Local media reported that the suspect Taleb al-Abdulmohsen had shown support for the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD), with a Saudi source telling Reuters that the kingdom had warned German authorities about the suspect, who the source said had posted extremist views on his personal X account.
German ambassador to the UK Miguel Berger told BBC Radio 4’s Broadcasting House programme on Sunday: “The question is, ‘Does X really act against these things?’”
Full report: Anger grows in Germany over missed chances to stop Christmas market attack
Sunday 22 December 2024 18:00
Andy Gregory
As the German city of Magdeburg mourns the loss of people killed in an attack on a Christmas market, anger is growing over security concerns and previous warnings given to authorities about the suspect.
The leader of Germany’s far-left Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance party, Sahra Wagenknecht, asked “why so many tips and warnings were ignored beforehand,” and called for interior minister Nancy Faeser to explain.
On the other end of the political spectrum, AfD’s parliamentary head demanded a parliamentary session be held to discuss security issues.
Far-right protesters also took to the streets of Magdeburg on Saturday evening, holding a sign which read “remigration” and calling for the mass deportation of immigrants.
My colleague Athena Stavrou reports:
Video report | Four women and boy confirmed as those killed in German Christmas market attack
Sunday 22 December 2024 17:31
Andy Gregory
Nine-year-old victim was member of youth fire brigade
Sunday 22 December 2024 16:59
Andy Gregory
Nine-year-old André Gleissner was a member of a children’s fire brigade, it has emerged.
In a statement, the Lower Saxony youth fire brigade said: “It is with deep shock and sadness that we share in the tragic events of the terrorist attack in Magdeburg. At a time that should be marked by community, hope and reflection, we are once again confronted with fear and violence.
“We are particularly saddened by the loss of such a young life from our own ranks. André, nine years old and a committed member of the Warle children’s fire brigade in the Braunschweig district, was taken from his life by this senseless act.
“Our condolences go out to his family, his friends and everyone who was close to him. We stand by their side in these difficult times and express our deepest sympathy.”
Nearly £50,000 raised in support of nine-year-old victim’s family
Sunday 22 December 2024 16:33
Andy Gregory
Nearly £50,000 has been raised for André Gleissner, the Magdeburg attack’s nine-year-old victim who “will never be able to unwrap his Christmas presents”.
The tribute on the GoFundMe page set up by a friend of Andre’s mother, Desirèe, states: “André was really looking forward to Christmas. He wanted to spend the last weekend of Advent with his family at the Magdeburg Christmas market.
“But that day ended in unbelievable tragedy: André was a victim of the terrible attack on the Christmas market and will never be able to open his presents. With his cheerful smile and his joy for life, André leaves a big hole in the hearts of his family, friends and everyone who knew him.
“This fundraising campaign was launched to support André’s family during this difficult time. Funds raised will help ease the financial burden caused by this tragedy and allow the family to move through the journey of grief at their own pace.”
‘My little teddy bear’: Mother’s tribute to nine-year-old boy killed in attack
Sunday 22 December 2024 16:28
Andy Gregory
The youngest victim of the attack on a Christmas market in Germany has been named by his family.
In a heartbreaking social media post, the mother of nine-year-old André Gleißner paid tribute to her son, saying: “Let my little teddy bear fly around the world again. André didn’t do anything to anybody. He was only with us on earth for nine years. Why you? Just why?”
She added: “You will always live on in our hearts … I promise you that.”
Athena Stavrou has more details in this report:
Watch: Far-right protesters rally in Magdeburg after German Christmas market attack
Sunday 22 December 2024 15:37
Athena Stavrou
Anger grows in Germany over missed chances to stop Magdeburg Christmas market attack
Sunday 22 December 2024 15:06
Athena Stavrou
As the German city of Magdeburg mourns the loss of people killed in an attack on a Christmas market, anger is growing over security concerns and previous warnings given to authorities about the suspect.
Minutes after a car was rammed into the bustling market, a 50-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia named by German media as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen was arrested. On Saturday evening, he was remanded into custody after appearing in court, police said.
Local media reported he had shown support for the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD), with a Saudi source telling Reuters that the kingdom had warned German authorities about the suspect, who the source said had posted extremist views on his personal X account.
Read the full story:
Watch: Far-right protesters rally in Magdeburg after German Christmas market attack
Sunday 22 December 2024 14:01
Athena Stavrou
Far-right protesters gathered in the German city of Magdeburg after five people - including a child - were killed in an attack on a Christmas market.
Around 1,000 people congregated in the city of Magdeburg on Saturday night (21 December), after misinformation about the motives of the suspected attacker spread online.
Protesters chanted “Those who do not love Germany should leave Germany” and held a banner with the word “Remigration” on it.
There were some minor scuffles with the police, according to local media reports.
Police have arrested a 50-year-old Saudi doctor identified by local media as Taleb A, who had lived in Germany since 2006 and reportedly sympathised with Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany party.
Pictured: Magdeburg pays tribute to victims
Sunday 22 December 2024 13:41
Athena Stavrou
Eyewitness describes ‘war-like conditions’
Sunday 22 December 2024 13:24
Athena Stavrou
In the aftermath of the attack, an anonymous eyewitness told the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung newspaper that the perpetrator drove into the ‘Fairy Tale’ area of the Magdeburg Christmas market, and that there were many families present. She and her child were able to jump to the side of the vehicle.
A restaurateur said that the driver raced directly past his burger stand, describing the conditions as “war-like”.
Anger grows over security concerns
Sunday 22 December 2024 12:54
Athena Stavrou
As the German city of Magdeburg mourns the loss of people killed in an attack on a Christmas market, anger is growing over “security concerns”.
Security at Christmas markets in Germany has stepped up in recent years following a deadly attack in Berlin in 2016, but the attacker was able to gain access on Friday via emergency exit points.
City official Ronni Krug insisted the security concept for the Magdeburg Christmas market was “constantly being revised and modified.”
He said: “How this case could come about must first be investigated by the police. I will not indulge in speculation. But you can rest assured that we will continue to update the security concept, which we are constantly updating anyway, once we have reached an assessment with our colleagues from the police.”
German Christmas market attack: Everything we know as car attack kills five and injures hundreds
Sunday 22 December 2024 11:59
Athena Stavrou
A driver rammed a car into a crowd of shoppers at a busy German Christmas market on Friday evening, killing at least five people and injuring 200.
An extensive police operation is underway following the attack at the market in the German city of Magdeburg that happened at around 7pm local time on Friday.
Four women and a nine-year-old boy have been killed, with 41 people thought to still be critically injured.
A 50-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia was arrested on Friday following the attack and has been remanded in custody.
Identified as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, he has been in the country since 2006 and according to local media outlets, he reportedly sympathised with the country’s far-right Alternative for Germany party.
Here’s everything we know about the attack so far:
Who is Taleb al-Abdulmohsen?
Sunday 22 December 2024 11:06
Athena Stavrou
Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, a 50-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia, is suspected of ramming his car into a German Christmas market, killing five.
On Saturday evening, he was remanded into custody after appearing in a court in which he was charged with five counts of murder, multiple attempted murder and multiple counts of dangerous bodily harm.
Authorities confirmed that he first came to Germany in 2006 and later gained refugee status in 2016.
He worked as a psychiatric doctor in the nearby town of Bernburg, with his workplace issuing a statement describing their shock at the attack.
Posting on Instagram, the Salus-Fachklinikum Bernburg clinic said it was “shocked to learn that the alleged perpetrator worked as a specialist doctor in our enforcement in Bernburg”.
It added that the suspect had been employed there as a psychiatric specialist since March 2020, but he had not been working since October due to illness and holiday.
Pictured: Memorial grows in Magdeburg
Sunday 22 December 2024 10:17
Athena Stavrou
Nine-year-old boy among the dead
Sunday 22 December 2024 09:47
Athena Stavrou
Authorities have confirmed that a nine-year-old boy is among the five people who were killed in an attack on a Christmas market in eastern Germany.
Magdeburg police said that the other victims were four women, aged 45, 52, 67 and 75.
205 people were injured in the attack including 41 in critical condition.
Watch: Far-right protesters rally in Magdeburg after German Christmas market attack
Sunday 22 December 2024 09:31
Athena Stavrou
Suspect remanded after appearing before judge
Sunday 22 December 2024 08:55
Athena Stavrou
The suspected driver of the car that rammed into a Christmas market in Germany has been remanded in custody after appearing in court on Saturday night.
“The judge ordered pre-trial detention for five counts of murder, multiple attempted murder and multiple counts of dangerous bodily harm,” its statement said.
Five people, including a nine-year-old child, have died following the attack on Friday night.
Pictured: Far-right in Magdeburg
Sunday 22 December 2024 08:35
Athena Stavrou
Far-right gather in Magdeburg
Sunday 22 December 2024 08:33
Athena Stavrou
A far-right rally gathered in eastern germany after five people - including a child - were killed in an attack on a Christmas market.
Around 1,000 people congregated in the city of Magdeburg on Saturday night, after misinformation about the motives of the suspected attacker spread online.
The crowd was seen with a banner with the word ‘Remigration’ and local media reported there were some minor altercations with the police.
Police have arrested a 50-year-old Saudi doctor identified by local media as Taleb A, who had lived in Germany since 2006 and reportedly sympathised with Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany party.
Interior minister Nancy Faeser expressed concern that the attack could be exploited by the far right, but said little could be done to prevent seemingly coordinated gatherings.
On Saturday, she also described the suspect as an Islamaphobe.
Members of the public gave first aid to victims, witness says
Sunday 22 December 2024 08:00
Andy Gregory
An eyewitness has described members of the public giving first aid to victims of the attack in the moments after it unfolded. tells the BBC he was spending the evening out with his girlfriend and her family when the attack unfolded.
“Suddenly there was a rumbling and the sound of shattered glass,” the eyewitness told the BBC. “People began to panic. I was next to where it happened. For me it was just the sound first.”
“It took a few minutes for first paramedics to arrive, but it wasn’t enough because there were already 200 people hurt,” he said. “Most of the first aid was done by people there.”
Interior minister warns against attack being exploited for political gains
Sunday 22 December 2024 07:00
Andy Gregory
Interior minister Nancy Faeser expressed concern that the attack could be exploited by the far right, but said little could be done to prevent seemingly coordinated gatherings.
“We have freedom of assembly in this country,” she told Reuters, speaking from the scene of the attack. “We have to do everything possible to make sure the attack isn’t misused by either side.”
Attack has echoes of 2016 Berlin atrocity
Sunday 22 December 2024 06:00
Rhian Lubin
Friday’s attack comes almost exactly eight years after a similar atrocity at the Berlin Christmas market.
Anis Amri rammed a large truck into the market, killing 13 people and injuring dozens more on December 19, 2016. The attack was later claimed by Isis.
Using fake documents, Amri fled to Italy and died in a shootout with police near Milan four days later.
Just three days after the attack the market defiantly reopened and was bustling once again.
Berliners and tourists milled around the stalls selling traditional gingerbread and gifts under the watchful eye of patrolling squads of armed police, surrounded by protective concrete barriers, our reporting from the time notes.
‘We are shaking’: Residents describe sickening noise of crash
Sunday 22 December 2024 03:00
Andy Gregory
Magdeburg resident Dorin Steffen told German news agency dpa that she was at a concert in a nearby church when she heard the sirens. The noise was so loud “you had to assume that something terrible had happened”.
She called the attack “a dark day” for the city.
“We are shaking,” Ms Steffen said. “Full of sympathy for the relatives, also in the hope that nothing has happened to our relatives, friends and acquaintances.”
Emergency services barricade area after driver ploughs into German Christmas market
Sunday 22 December 2024 02:01
Andy Gregory
Eyewitness describes ‘war-like conditions’
Sunday 22 December 2024 01:02
Andy Gregory
In the aftermath of the attack, an anonymous eyewitness told the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung newspaper that the perpetrator drove into the ‘Fairy Tale’ area of the Magdeburg Christmas market, and that there were many families present. She and her child were able to jump to the side of the vehicle.
A restaurateur said that the driver raced directly past his burger stand, describing the conditions as “war-like”.
No specific intelligence indicating a threat to Christmas markets in UK, report says
Saturday 21 December 2024 23:52
Andy Gregory
While at least one Christmas market in the UK has reviewed its safety protocols in light of the attack in Magdeburg, the Press Association reports that there is no specific intelligence indicating a threat to Christmas markets in Britain.
The threat level for the whole of the UK remains at substantial, meaning an attack is likely.
Firefighter raced to scene of the attack to help
Saturday 21 December 2024 23:21
Rhian Lubin
A firefighter told how he rushed to the market to help after he heard about the attack.
“It was like something out of a bad movie,” 22-year-old Johannes told German newspaper Bild.
“I ran through the devastated market, people were lying on the left and right. And the only thing that went through my mind was: who am I going to help now? I then grabbed the injured people who didn’t have anyone with them and took them to the appropriate treatment areas.
“With a permanent marker, I wrote the words green, yellow or red on the injured people’s faces, depending on how severe their injuries were.
“The people in Magdeburg are in shock. But at the same time, they have shown that they are there for each other. I was proud when I saw how many helpers came together in such a short space of time.”
Opinion | Whatever the aim, the Germany attack will surely make the West more divided
Saturday 21 December 2024 22:50
Andy Gregory
Historian Mark Almond writes:
Germany’s rapidly growing economic and social dislocation in recent years has tended to make migration – strictly speaking unrelated – the touchstone issue in its coming general election on 23 February.
The facts of the Magdeburg case are likely to be lost. For too many people and politicians, the identity of the suspect as an Arab will be enough.
In any case, the issue, as opposed to the facts, was already being internationalised.
Full report: German city mourns as death toll rises following market attack just days before Christmas
Saturday 21 December 2024 21:51
Andy Gregory
The German city of Magdeburg is in a state of mourning following an attack on a busy Christmas market which killed at least five people and left hundreds more injured.
Tributes piled up on Saturday as state leaders visited the site of the attack where a driver rammed a car into crowds at around 7pm on Friday.
My colleague Athena Stavrou has the full report:
Far-right protesters gather in Madgeburg
Saturday 21 December 2024 20:27
Andy Gregory
Germany’s chancellor Olaf Scholz and interior minister Nancy Faeser travelled to Magdeburg on Saturday, where a memorial service took place. Ms Faeser ordered flags lowered to half-staff at government buildings across the country.
Although many people went to the site with candles to mourn the victims, several hundred far-right protesters gathered in a central square in Magdeburg with a banner that read “remigration”, German news agency dpa reported.
Another protester was photographed holding a sign reading “the blood sticks to your hands”.
Far-right supporters seen at memorial visited by AfD leader
Saturday 21 December 2024 20:02
Andy Gregory
The scene of a memorial for victims of Friday’s attack has become more politically charged, as politicians warned of concerns that the incident could be exploited by the far-right ahead of February’s election.
By the time AfD co-leader Tino Chrupalla arrived at a memorial in Magdeburg on Saturday, the crowd was filled with young people who had responded from all round east Germany to calls by the far-right party’s youth wing on social media to attend a vigil, Reuters reported.
Many of the gathered supporters wore symbols associated with neopaganism and other mystical movements associated with the far right. One young man, who said he was from the AfD’s youth wing, wore an amulet depicting the hammer of the Norse god Thor.
AfD, which is particularly strong in eastern Germany, took first and second place in three regional votes this autumn.
Saudi Arabia sent security tips about suspect, German source says
Saturday 21 December 2024 19:38
Andy Gregory
Saudi Arabia had warned German authorities about the suspect after he posted extremist views on his X account that threatened peace and security, a Saudi source told Reuters.
A German security source said Saudi authorities had sent several tips in 2023 and 2024 and that these had been passed on to the relevant security authorities, the news agency reported.
A risk assessment conducted last year by German state and federal criminal investigators came to the conclusion that the man posed “no specific danger”, newspaper Die Welt reported, citing security sources.
