Andre Gleissner is one of those killed after an attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany.
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The youngest victim of the attack on a Christmas market in Germany has been named by his family.
In a heartbreaking social media post, the mother of nine-year-old Andre Gleissner paid tribute to her “little teddy bear” following the incident on Friday night.
He was one of five people who were killed when a BMW rammed into a bustling Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg at around 7pm.
Desiree Gleissner wrote on Facebook: “Let my teddy bear fly around the world again. André didn’t do anything to anyone. He was just with us on earth for nine years. Why you? Why?”
And he added: “You will live in our hearts. . . I promise you. “
The fire department in Schoppenstedt, around an hour’s drive from the city, said Andre was a member of the children’s fire brigade in Warle.
Considering that “he left us too soon,” the brigade added: “Our thoughts are with André’s loved ones, whom we also wish for in this difficult period. “
A fundraiser has been organized in her mother’s call to her family as they “live the adventure of grief at their own pace. “
He describes André as someone who had a “zest for life” and “really looked for before Christmas” before his stop at the market “ended in tragedy. “
Almost €50,000 (£41,000) has been raised so far, and the friend who set up the GoFundMe page said the family were “overwhelmed” by the support.
More than two hundred more people were injured in the attack, 41 of them seriously, while four other women died.
In the days after the attack, anger grew over security considerations and warnings given to the government about the suspect.
Local media reported that he had run for the far-right Alternative for Germany party, and a Saudi source told Reuters that he had posted extremist views on his private X account and that the kingdom had alerted the German government about him.
A German security source told Reuters that tips sent by the Saudi authorities in 2023 and 2024 had been passed on to the relevant authorities.
Die Welt newspaper cited security sources that a threat assessment by state and federal investigators had concluded that the man posed “no express danger. “
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz booed angry citizens when he arrived at the scene on Saturday.
Mr Scholz went on to pledge government support for those who needed it as he condemned the attack as “barbaric”.
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