Too early to jump to conclusions over German Christmas market attack, minister says

BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s interior minister said on Monday it was still too soon to jump to any conclusions about the man suspected of driving his car into a Christmas market in Magdeburg and killing at least five people.

Authorities are looking into whether there were security lapses in the build-up to the Dec. 20 attack, which has cast a renewed spotlight on security and immigration ahead of a snap election.

Officials have described the arrested suspect as a 50-year-old psychiatrist from Saudi Arabia with a history of anti-Islamic rhetoric and a sympathy for the far-right Alternative for Germany Party.

“The perpetrator does not fit into any previous categorisation,” Faeser said after a four-hour session of a ministerial committee focused on the attack.

She promised a full investigation. “Every stone will be turned over here.”

(Reporting by Maria Martinez; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

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