ReutersA man rammed a car into a group of shoppers at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg on Friday night.
The attack killed five people, including a 9-year-old child, and injured more than 200 people, many seriously.
A judge ordered the pretrial detention of a 50-year-old man arrested on suspicion of carrying out an attack.
Police believe he acted alone.
How did the attack unfold?
Our first call to emergency services was made at 19:02 local time (18:02 GMT).
The caller reported a car plowed into a crowd of people at the downtown Christmas market.
Police said the caller thought it was an accident, but soon discovered it was not.
Police said the driver used a traffic light to close the road, enter a crosswalk and pass through an entrance to the market reserved for emergency vehicles, injuring several people along the way.
Unconfirmed videos on social media showed drivers speeding along the sidewalk between the Christmas stalls.
Witnesses described jumping out of the car’s path, running away or hiding.
The driver then returned to the road he came from and was forced to stop in traffic, police said. The police, who were already at the market, arrested the driver here.
Footage shows armed police confronting and arresting a man who can be seen lying on the ground next to a stationary vehicle – a black BMW with severe damage to the front bumper and windshield.
Police said the entire incident was over within three minutes.
Who are the victims?
A nine-year-old boy and four women were confirmed dead in the attack.
More than 200 people have been injured, at least 41 of them seriously.
The death toll was earlier reported as two dead and 68 injured, but the total was revised to higher on Saturday morning.
The victims have not yet been identified, but Magdeburg police said late Saturday that their ages were 45, 52, 67 and 75.
Who is the suspect?
The BBC understands that local media reported the suspect as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen.
He is a 50-year-old psychiatrist born in Saudi Arabia who lives in Bernburg, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Magdeburg.
Police said he was remanded in custody on suspicion of five counts of murder, multiple attempted murders and dangerous bodily harm.
The motive behind the attack was unclear, but authorities reported they believed he carried out the attack alone.
Abdelmosen arrived in Germany in 2006 and was recognized as a refugee in 2016.
German Interior Minister Nancy Feser told reporters that it was “clear” that the suspect held “Islamophobic” views.
The suspect was an outspoken critic of Islam on social media and promoted conspiracy theories about what German authorities called a plot to Islamize Europe.
A report in Der Spiegel stated that Taleb A complained to the authorities a year ago, but officials believed that Taleb A’s remarks did not constitute a specific threat.
ReutersWhat did officials say about the attack?
“The reports coming out of Magdeburg raise the gravest concerns,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on social media platform X.
According to German public broadcaster MDR, Magdeburg City Councilor for Public Order Ronni Krug said that the Christmas market will remain closed and “Christmas in Magdeburg is over.”
That sentiment was echoed on the market’s website, which after the attack featured only a black screen with words of condolence declaring the market was over.
In X’s statement, the Saudi Arabian government expressed “solidarity with the German people and the families of the victims” and “affirmed its rejection of violence.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was “shocked by the brutal attack in Magdeburg” and posted on Friday night’s X that his thoughts were with “the victims, their families and all those affected” “Influenced people” are present.
