On Sunday morning, the suspect was arrested for five counts of murder, several counts of attempted murder, and several counts of gross bodily harm.
Besides a nine-year-old boy, four women were killed in the attack – 45, 52, 67, and 75 years old. About 200 people were injured, with around 40 seriously.
The driver is a 50-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia, who is said to have lived in Germany for nearly two decades.
Was Warned
He was previously convicted, as in 2013 he threatened to carry out an attack. After a dispute related to his examination results being approved, he called the medical association in question and threatened it, according to the German Spiegel. No evidence was found that he actually planned an attack, but he was fined 900 euros, equivalent to around 10,000 kronor today.
German authorities confirm that they received warnings about the man as early as last year. This is stated by Holger Münch, head of the federal police authority in Germany.
Münch's office received a tip about the man from Saudi Arabia in November 2023, which led to the authorities initiating "appropriate investigative measures".
The Government Will Investigate
"The man has published a large number of posts on the internet. He has also had contact with various authorities, expressed insults, and even threatened. However, it is not known that he would have committed violent acts," says Münch in an interview with the German TV company ZDF.
He said that the warnings, however, turned out to be very unspecific.
The government promises to investigate whether the security services could have prevented the attack.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and the heads of the domestic and foreign intelligence services will be questioned by two parliamentary committees on December 30, following demands from opposition parties for quick answers.
