The suspect has been identified in local media reports as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, the BBC understands.

He is a 50-year-old Saudi-born psychiatrist who lives in Bernburg, around 40km (25 miles) south of Magdeburg.

He has been remanded in custody on suspicion of five counts of murder, multiple attempted murders and dangerous bodily harm, police say.

The motive behind the attack remains unclear but authorities have reported that they believe he carried out the attack alone.

Al-Abdulmohsen arrived in Germany in 2006 and in 2016 was recognised as a refugee.

Germany’s Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told reporters that it was “clear to see” that the suspect holds “Islamophobic” views.

The suspect is an outspoken critic of Islam on social media, and has promoted conspiracy theories regarding an alleged plot by German authorities to Islamicise Europe.

Magdeburg police chief Tom-Oliver Langhans said police had previously conducted an evaluation as to whether the suspect might have posed a potential threat, “but that discussion was one year ago”.

One of those tip-offs is believed to have come from Saudi Arabian authorities.

A source close to the Saudi government told the BBC it sent four official notifications known as “Notes Verbal” to German authorities, warning them about what they said were “the very extreme views” held by al-Abdulmohsen.

However, a counter-terrorism expert told the BBC the Saudis may have been mounting a disinformation campaign to discredit someone who tried to help young Saudi women seek asylum in Germany.

The head of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), Holger Münch, told public broadcaster ZDF that his office had received a notice from Saudi Arabia in November 2023. He said local police took appropriate investigative measures, but the matter was unspecific.

He added that the suspect “had various contacts with authorities, insulted them and even made threats, but he was not known for violent acts”.