“My little teddy bear” has been honoured by the mother of a nine-year-old child who was killed in the German Christmas market assault, reports Sky,
A vehicle crashed into crowds in Magdeburg on Friday night, killing at least five people and injuring over 200 more, including Andre Gleissner.
In a Facebook post, his mother Desiree Gleissner wrote: “Return my little teddy bear to flying across the world. There was nothing that Andre did to anyone. Why you… why? He was only here on Earth for nine years. I don’t get it.
“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,” reports Sky,
Before it was shut down, a GoFundMe campaign created to help Andre’s family garnered close to 50,000 euros.
On the page, Andre’s mother’s coworker Franziska Helbich wrote that he “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, reports Sky.
According to German authorities, the event also claimed the lives of four women, ages 45, 52, 67, and 75.
After appearing before a court on Saturday night, a 50-year-old suspect was placed under detention in jail.
German officials have not verified the name, however German media have identified him as Taleb A, with his last name omitted in accordance with privacy regulations, reports Sky.
The suspect is a Saudi national who came to Germany in 2006 as a doctor, according to Saxony-Anhalt state Premier Reiner Haseloff.
According to prosecutor Horst Walter Nopens, he is under investigation for 205 cases of suspected attempted murder and five charges of suspected murder, reports Sky.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, and Chancellor Olaf Scholz attended a memorial ceremony for the victims on Saturday night at the city’s cathedral, reports Sky.
Exactly twenty-four hours after the assault, at 7.04 p.m. local time (6.04 p.m. UK time), the cathedral bells began to ring.
In a post on X, Mr Scholz described it as a “moving moment of compassion and solidarity for a deeply affected city”, reports Sky.
“The whole of Germany stands in these dark hours with the people of Magdeburg,” he wrote, reports Sky.
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