Nine-year-old boy killed in German Christmas market attack named as Andre Gleissner

The mother of a nine-year-old boy killed in the German Christmas market attack has paid tribute to "my little teddy bear".

Andre Gleissner was one of at least five people who died, while more than 200 others were injured when a car ploughed into crowds in Magdeburg on Friday evening.

German Christmas market attack - latest updates

His mother Desiree Gleissner said in a post on Facebook: "Let my little teddy bear fly around the world again... Andre didn't do anything to anyone... He was only with us on earth for nine years... why you... why. I don't understand.

"Now you are with grandma and grandpa in heaven. They missed you very much as we miss you here now.

"You will always live on in our hearts... I promise you that."

A GoFundMe page set up to support Andre's family raised nearly €50,000 (£41,500) before it was closed.

Franziska Helbich, a work colleague of his mum, wrote on the page Andre "was so looking forward to Christmas" but "will never be able to unwrap his presents".

"With his cheerful smile and his zest for life, Andre leaves a big gap in the hearts of his family, friends and all those who knew him," she said.

Organisers said in a later update that they had reopened the page for donations after receiving a flood of requests from the public, and that Andre's family was planning to pass on a large part of the donations to the other victims who died or were injured in the attack.

'We stand by their side'

German police have confirmed four women, aged 45, 52, 67 and 75, were also among those killed in the incident.

A 50-year-old suspect was remanded in custody after appearing before a judge on Saturday evening.

Two local fire brigades paid tribute to Andre, with the Schoppenstedt fire department saying he was a member of the children's fire brigade in Warle.

"Our thoughts are with Andrés' relatives, who we also want to support during this difficult time," it said, sharing a donation appeal.

The Lower Saxony youth fire brigade also paid tribute to Andre, saying: "Our condolences go out to his family, his friends and everyone who was close to him.

"We stand by their side in these difficult times and express our deepest sympathy."

Authorities received tip-offs about suspect

The suspect has been named by German media as Taleb A, with his surname being withheld in line with privacy laws, although the name has not been confirmed by German authorities.

He is a Saudi citizen who worked as a doctor and arrived in Germany in 2006, premier of Saxony-Anhalt state Reiner Haseloff said.

He is being investigated for five counts of suspected murder and 205 counts of suspected attempted murder, prosecutor Horst Walter Nopens said.

It comes as the head of the Federal Criminal Police Office, Holger Munch, said in an interview on the German broadcaster ZDF that his office received a tip-off from Saudi Arabia in November 2023.

He said the tip-off led authorities to launch "appropriate investigative measures", but that the information proved to be very unspecific.

Germany's Federal Office for Migration and Refugees also said it had received a warning about the suspect last summer.

"This was taken seriously, like every other of the numerous tips," the office said on X on Saturday.

It also noted that it is not an investigative authority and that it referred the information to the responsible authorities.

Meanwhile, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's state interior minister, Christian Pegel, said that the suspect originally lived in the region, where he completed his specialist training.

Mr Pegel also said the suspect came to the attention of authorities due to threatening criminal acts, when, in a dispute over the recognition of examination results, he threatened members of the state medical association with an act that "would attract international attention".

The comments triggered an investigation and a search of his home, the dpa news agency reported, citing Mr Pegel, however, no evidence was found of real preparations for an attack.

A court found him guilty in 2013 of threatening an attack.

'Moment of solidarity'

A memorial service was held for the victims in the city's cathedral on Saturday evening, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz, interior minister Nancy Faeser and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in attendance.

The cathedral bells tolling at 7.04pm local time (6.04pm UK time), exactly 24 hours after the attack.

Read more:
Christmas market attack suspect threatened act to 'attract international attention'
What we know about attack so far
Magdeburg in shock as it tries to make sense of the senseless

In a post on X, Mr Scholz described it as a "moving moment of compassion and solidarity for a deeply affected city".

"The whole of Germany stands in these dark hours with the people of Magdeburg," he wrote.

Residents in Magdeburg told Sky's Europe correspondent Siobhan Robbins they are "shocked" and "traumatised" by the attack.

One woman said she "can't find words to describe how traumatised we are".

"We need a lot of time to process what happened," she said.

(c) Sky News 2024: Nine-year-old boy killed in German Christmas market attack named as Andre Gleissner