Local firefighters have paid tribute to a nine-year-old killed in an attack on a German Christmas market.
André Gleißner died on Friday evening after a car crashed into a crowd of shoppers at the Magdeburg market, according to the Schöppenstedt fire brigade.
In a statement they said he was a member of the children’s fire brigade in Warle, about an hour’s drive from Magdeburg.
Four women, aged 45, 52, 67 and 75, also died in the attack. The authorities are keep a suspect in pre-trial detention for murder, attempted murder and dangerous battery.
“Our thoughts are with André’s loved ones, whom we also wish to support in this difficult period,” said the firefighters’ press release.
The young firefighters of Lower Saxony also paid tribute to the nine-year-old.
“Our condolences go out to his family, friends and all his loved ones,” he said in a statement.
“We stand by them in these difficult times and express our deepest sympathy,” the statement added.
Friday’s attack left more than 200 people injured, some of whom are in critical condition.
The four women who were also killed have not yet been identified.
The car crashed into the crowded market via an emergency vehicle access lane around 7:00 p.m. local time (18:00 GMT), police said.
Eyewitnesses described jumping out of the car’s path, running away or hiding. Unverified social media footage showed the vehicle speeding down a pedestrian walkway between stalls.
Police said the driver then drove off again and was forced to pull into traffic, where he was arrested.
Around a hundred police officers, doctors and firefighters went to the scene, according to municipal authorities.
A 50-year-old man has been remanded in custody on five counts of murder, attempted multiple murder and dangerous battery, police said.
The suspect was identified in local media as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, a Saudi-born psychiatrist who arrived in Germany in 2006.
The motive for the attack remains unclear, but authorities believe the driver acted alone.
German authorities are facing security questions after being warned last year that the suspect could pose a threat.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry said it had warned the German government about Al-Abdulmohsen’s extremist views, but received no response.
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