The 50-year-old Saudi national, the suspect in the Christmas market car attack, acted alone and there have so far been no hints of a second perpetrator, the German police said. Taleb Abdul Jawad, identified in German police documents as Taleb A, was produced before the Magdeburg's district court on Saturday, which ordered investigative detention.
Police added that it was still too early to determine the motive for the crime. However, there is no indication it was Islamist-motivated.
A statement by the police said: "The arraignment judge ordered investigative detention on suspicion of five cases of homicide, multiple cases of attempted homicide and multiple cases of dangerous bodily harm," police said. "The accused was accordingly taken to a place of detention," the short statement concluded.
How the accident unfolded
Police received the first call around 7:02 pm. They initially thought it was an accident as the caller said a car had driven into a crowd at a Christmas market in the middle of town. He assumed it was an accident but police soon found out the truth.
The suspect drove through a pedestrian crossing through an entry point to the market, injuring several people on the way. CCTV footage also shows Taleb speeding the vehicle through a pedestrian walkway between Christmas stalls. Many were seen jumping out of the car's path.
Talen then returned to the road and stopped the vehicle in the traffic. The police officers who were on duty at the market immediately arrested the driver. Images showed police detaining a man seen lying on the ground next to a stationary vehicle - a black BMW. "The entire incident was over in three minutes," police said.
Five people died in the accident, including a nine-year-old boy and four women aged 45, 52, 67 and 75. Over 200 people have been injured and at least 41 are in critical condition.