Magdeburg: Mourners gather for Christmas market vigil

A senior public prosecutor in Magdeburg, Horst Walter Nopens, offered first indications about the potenital motive for the attack in a press conference on Saturday. 

"Whether it was a terrorist attack, we don't yet know," Nopens said, albeit adding that it could certainly be considered an attack. 

Nopens also said that federal prosecutors had not, as yet, taken over the case, as they would if it is formally deemed a terrorist investigation. 

He said the suspect had made comments about his motive during questioning but that it was still necessary to see which of these held up to scrutiny. 

Based on current information, he said, the motivation for the crime "could have been ... dissatisfaction with the treatment of Saudi Arabian refugees in Germany." 

"But what might still lie behind that is the subject of the investigations," he said.

For more information on what's known so far about the suspect, click here.

Benjamin Haddad, France's EU minister, will travel to Magdeburg on Sunday "to express France's support for the German people after the tragic Christmas market attack."

French President Emmanuel Macron is said to have tasked Haddad with the visit. 

Macron expressed his own condolences on Friday evening shortly after the attack.

Pope Francis has conveyed his condolences in a telegram to German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, according to the Holy See in Rome.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin conveyed the pontiff's "spiritual closeness" to the victims of Friday's attack.

Parolin wrote that the pope "prays for the deceased and entrusts the people to Christ, our hope, whose light may shine in the darkness."

Francis singled out first responders for their brave work in helping victims "at this difficult time."  

Pascal Kober, the German government's commissioner for the victims of domestic terrorist activities, has promised lasting psychological care for those who were at the scene in Magdeburg, whether as victims, bystanders or first responders.

Kober said Chancellor Olaf Scholz personally asked him to oversee the government's efforts.

Kober said his thoughts were with the victims and their loved ones. He also went on to speak of his empathy for all those who were forced to "experience this repulsive act."

Kober called the incident one of the biggest acts of domestic terror the country has ever seen, saying he expected upwards of nearly 1,000 people could be in need of psychological and practical assistance.

"The experience can be accompanied by great psychological stress," he said, adding, "Those affected should not think that they can cope with it alone. The earlier help is sought, the lower the risk of the damage becoming chronic."

Kober also announced Saturday that those in need could reach out for psychological help by calling a special toll-free hotline at 0800 - 000 95 46.

As mourners gathered in and outside Magdeburg Cathedral to pray for the victims of Friday night's deadly Christmas market attack, members of the far-right made their presence known as they marched through the streets of the city. 

Marchers chanted "We are the people!" and carried large placards reading "Heimat" (Homeland) and "Remigration." 

Police, who accompanied the protesters through the streets, estimate that roughly 1,000 people have joined the demonstration.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Saxony-Anhalt State Premier Reiner Haseloff were among those in attendance at a memorial service for the victims of Friday night's attack on a Magdeburg Christmas market that killed five and injured over 200. 

"Last night's brutal attack leaves us saddened and angry, helpless and fearful, uncertain and desperate, speechless… stunned and deeply affected. We are here in the cathedral tonight with feelings that cannot be grasped," said Bishop Gerhard Feige.

Feige continued by saying those present were there to offer each other support, adding, we cannot "let hate and violence have the last word." 

US President Joe Biden on Saturday released a statement of support for Germany and the German people in the wake of Friday's Christmas market attack in the central city of Magdeburg.

The statement expressed "our deepest condolences" after what Biden called a "despicable and dark event."

The White House statement said that Biden had been in touch with German officials and pledged "all available resources and assistance if needed," noting that the US "stands with our allies against violent terror."
 

Authorities in Magdeburg, Germany, said the rescue route exploited by Friday's Christmas market attacker was not protected by barriers.

City official Ronni Krug said Magdeburg's security system had proven itself over the years and was last updated in November. Though there were no barricades along the route — designed to ensure access to rescue services vehicles in the event of an emergency — Krug made clear that it was not unprotected as it had been guarded by police at the time of the attack.

German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will join locals in praying for the victims and their families and friends while attending a memorial prayer service at Magdeburg Cathedral on Saturday evening.

On Friday evening, Steinmeier expressed his shock and sadness over news of Friday night's attack just days before the Christmas holiday.

The 7 p.m. (1800 GMT) service will cap a day that began with a visit from Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and Saxony-Anhalt State Premier Reiner Haseloff.

A nine-year-old child was among the five people killed in a car-ramming attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, prosecutors said.

Authorities are currently investigating the alleged Christmas market attacker on five counts of murder.

According to senior prosecutor Horst Walter Nopens, the charges also include attempted murder in 200 cases in connection with grievous bodily harm.

The motive for the attack remains unclear, but the suspect's dissatisfaction with Germany's treatment of Saudi refugees may have played a role, Nopens said.

Following the deadly attack in Magdeburg, the leader of Germany's opposition center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Friedrich Merz, called on politicians to act responsibly. The horrific attack does not fit the known pattern, he said.

This obliges "us politicians to pause for a moment and only assess what happened yesterday on the basis of reliable information," Merz wrote on X.

"It remains intolerable that we can only gather with fears and worries and can no longer celebrate carefree. We must stop this. But on this day, compassion, grief and help are more important," Merz said and emphasized. "Our country stands together."

Merz had traveled to Magdeburg today together with Chancellor Olaf Scholz and several ministers.

According to the far-right populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, the alleged suspect in the Magdeburg Christmas market attack was not a member of the party.

"We can rule out that the perpetrator from Magdeburg was a member of the AfD," a spokesman for party leader Alice Weidel told the Rheinische Post, adding that there had never been a membership application.

Support for the AfD had been expressed in a post on an X account under the name of the suspect, who was arrested after the attack.

The account describes him as a former Muslim. It is filled with tweets and retweets that focus on anti-Islamic themes and criticism of the religion.

A minute's silence will be held at first and second-division football matches across Germany for the victims of the attack in Magdeburg, the German Football League (DFL) said. 

"German professional football is shocked by the attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg," the DFL, which runs the Bundesliga, wrote in a statement. 

"The DFL recommends wearing a black armband of mourning for this weekend's Bundesliga and second division... and supports a minute of silence in tribute to the victims."

The German handball match between SC Magdeburg and Eisenach, scheduled for Sunday, was postponed.

"Out of respect for those affected and their families, we have decided to request that the match be postponed. In such a difficult time, we would like to show our solidarity and sympathy," SC Magdeburg wrote in a statement.

Several German states and cities said they are tightening security at Christmas markets in the wake of the Magdeburg attack that killed 5 people and injured 200 others.

In the capital, Berlin, the state interior minister said police would "increase their presence at the city's Christmas markets" as a precautionary measure.

Other states, including Hesse, Bremen, Lower Saxony, Rhineland-Palatinate and Schleswig-Holstein said they had also stepped up security measures.

The eastern city of Leipzig said its mountain parade would take place on Saturday alongside the Christmas market, and that additional officers and vehicles have been deployed.

Markus Lewe, President of the German Association of Cities, explained that the cities take "terror warnings from the authorities very seriously and regularly adjust the security measures on site."

"[At the same time] despite the high level of effort, protection can never be absolute," Lewe stressed.

Despite calls from some quarters for Christmas markets to be closed early, Albert Ritter, president of the German Showmen's Association said it would send the "wrong signal."

"The way we celebrate [Christmas with] them is a sign of living democracy and peaceful coexistence," Ritter told the Rheinische Post newspaper.

A minute's silence is planned at all Christmas markets in Germany on Saturday at 7 p.m. local time (0600 UTC/GMT)

Saudi security sources said Riyadh had previously warned Germany about the suspect behind the Magdeburg Christmas market attack.

The DPA news agency cited the sources as saying that German authorities did not respond.

The sources said the man was a Shiite Muslim from the city of Al-Hofuf in eastern Saudi Arabia.

Shiites are a minority in the country, making up only around 10% in the majority Sunni nation. 

There are repeated reports of discrimination against Shia Muslims in Saudi Arabia. 

German authorities were alerted about the man about a year ago, according to reports from DPA and Reuters news agencies and Der Spiegel magazine, however, the nature of the warning is currently unknown.

Germany's domestic intelligence agency has so far declined to comment.