German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visits site of attack, condemns 'terrible act'
Death toll in a car-ramming attack at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg rose to five, with 200 others injured, officials said on Saturday.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited the site of the attack that took place Friday evening, received briefing from officials on the incident, and met citizens.
The suspect, a 50-year-old Saudi doctor who has lived in Germany since 2006, was arrested at the scene.
Accompanied by regional and national leaders including Interior Minister Nancy Faeser in the eastern city, Scholz, dressed in black, placed a white rose in front of the main church.
"What a terrible act it is to injure and kill so many people there with such brutality," Scholz said.
“As chancellor, I want to assure you that the entire country and everyone in Germany with responsibility stand in solidarity with you,” he added.
The chancellor assured a thorough investigation, and pledged that Germany would respond “with the full force of the law” to the attack, but also called for unity.
Scholz said he was grateful for expressions of solidarity from many countries around the world.
Named by German media as Taleb A, the suspect, who worked a psychiatrist in the city of Bernburg, has been described as anti-Islam, who expressed support for the far-right AfD party and Zionism.
He claimed on his X account that German authorities were "chasing Saudi asylum seekers" to "destroy their lives" and that "Germany wants to islamize Europe."
Meanwhile, the Bild daily reported that an initial drug test of the suspect had proved positive.
