Scholz mourns five dead and hundreds injured in the attack on the Christmas market

Police arrested a 50-year-old Saudi psychiatric doctor at the scene next to the battered SUV that plowed through the festive crowd on Friday night, leaving a trail of bloodshed and gory victims in its wake.

A somber, black-clad Scholz was joined by federal and regional politicians in the eastern city of Magdeburg, where they laid flowers in front of the main church.

He promised that Germany would respond to the attack “with the full force of the law” but also called for unity as Germany is rocked by a heated debate over immigration and security heading into February elections.

The center-left Chancellor said it was important “that we stick together, that we join forces, that hatred does not determine our coexistence, but that we are a community that strives for a common future.”

He was grateful for the expressions of solidarity “from many, many countries around the world” and added: “It is good to hear that we as Germans are not alone in facing this terrible catastrophe.”

Mourners and grieving residents had already left candles, flowers and children’s toys at St. John’s Church, where a memorial service was planned for 7:00 p.m. (1800 GMT).

As Germany reeled from the shocking attack, which came eight years after a jihadist attack on a Berlin Christmas market that left 13 people dead, more details about the arrested Saudi Arabian have emerged.

Referred to as Taleb A. by the German media, he was a doctor with a permanent residence permit who had lived in Germany since 2006 and worked in a clinic near Magdeburg.

He was also a long-time human rights activist who advocated for Saudi women and described himself as a “Saudi atheist.” According to his social media posts and previous interviews, he had expressed strong Islamophobic views, echoing the rhetoric of the far right.

As his views expressed online became increasingly radical, he accused previous German governments of a plan to “Islamize Europe” and expressed fears that he would be targeted by authorities.

The Bild daily reported that an initial drug test was positive after police officers used a test kit on Friday that can detect narcotics ranging from cannabis to cocaine to methamphetamines.

Surveillance video of the attack showed a black BMW driving at high speed through a dense crowd, driving over or scattering festive stalls selling snacks, crafts and traditional mulled wine.

According to police, the vehicle drove “at least 400 meters above the Christmas market” on the city’s central town hall square.

One woman told the daily newspaper Die Welt: “I don’t know what world we live in where someone would use such a peaceful event to spread terror.”

The grief and anger sparked by the recent attack that killed a child appeared to fuel a heated debate over immigration.

The leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), Alice Weidel, whose campaign against immigrants focuses on jihadist attacks, wrote on X: “When will this madness stop?”

“What happened today affects many people. It affects us a lot,” Fael Kelion, a 27-year-old Cameroonian who lives in the city, told AFP.

“I think since (the suspect) is a foreigner, the population will be unhappy and less hospitable,” he said.

Michael Raarig, 67, an engineer, told AFP: “I’m sad, I’m shocked. I never thought something like this could happen here in an East German provincial town.”

He added that he believes the attack “will play into the hands of the AfD,” which had its strongest support in former communist East Germany.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser recently called for vigilance at Christmas markets, although she said authorities had not received any specific threats.

The Office for the Protection of the Constitution had warned that it considered Christmas markets to be an “ideologically suitable destination for Islamist-motivated people.”

There have been a number of suspected Islamist attacks in Germany recently that have inflamed public opinion.

The federal government introduced new border controls with European neighbors this year and promised to step up deportations of rejected asylum seekers.

Germany’s conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz, who was also in Magdeburg, promised in his election campaign to show “zero tolerance” for crime and to “stop illegal migration.”