Nine-year-old child among five dead in German Christmas market attack

A nine-year-old and a toddler are among five people killed after a car drove into people at a busy Christmas market in Germany, according to authorities.

More than 200 people were injured and 41 'severely injured' following the attack in Magdeburg on Friday night. The death toll is expected to rise following the tragedy, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz saying nearly 40 of those were “so seriously injured that we must be very worried about them”.

German media has identified the suspect as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, a psychiatrist who lives in Bernburg, around 40km south of Magdeburg. He has since been arrested.

Germany's interior ministry says he is believed to hold "Islamophobic" views. It is understood that he was acting alone.

Describing himself as a former Muslim, he shared dozens of tweets and retweets daily focusing on anti-Islam themes, criticising the religion and congratulating Muslims who left the faith.

He also accused German authorities of failing to do enough to combat what he said was the “Islamism of Europe”. Some described him as an activist who helped Saudi women flee their homeland. He has also voiced support for the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Recently, he seemed focused on his theory that German authorities have been targeting Saudi asylum seekers.

Prosecutor Horst Walter Nopens said in a press conference the suspect is set to be prosecuted for five murders and grievous bodily harm.