MAGDEBURG, Germany - A spontaneous memorial created by grieving families and local residents at a church overlooking Magdeburg's Christmas market evolved into something more politically charged during Dec 21.

The changing tone at the site of a car-ramming attack a day earlier, in which five people were killed and more than 200 injured, reflected political tensions in a country racked by arguments over immigration and over the surging popularity of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Authorities arrested a Saudi man with a history of anti-Islamic rhetoric but said the motives for the attack were not yet known.

At first, as people laid flowers outside the church in the early morning, there were just expressions of sorrow and grief.

Andrea Reis, 57, arrived with her daughter Julia, 34, and reflected on a narrow escape.

It was only because her daughter wanted them to keep walking round the market rather than stop to eat that they were not in the path of the car that ploughed through the market, she said.

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