Magdeburg residents expressed their shock and grief on Sunday (December 22) as they came to the Christmas market site and the nearby church to lay flowers and put candles down.

A field of flowers covered the square in front of Saint John Church with people standing in silence to pay respect to the victims of the Christmas market attack on Friday (December 20).

"I am sad. Very, very sad. And there is no joy in this Christmas season for me," said one of them, Reda Uecker.

READ: Angry questions in Germany after Christmas market attack

A man suspected of ploughing a car through crowds in an attack that killed five people and injured scores faces multiple charges of murder and attempted murder, police said on Sunday.

Friday evening's attack in the central city of Magdeburg shocked the country and stirred up tensions over the charged issue of immigration.

The suspect, who was in custody, is a 50-year-old psychiatrist from Saudi Arabia with a history of anti-Islamic rhetoric who has lived in Germany for almost two decades. The motive for the attack remained unclear.

(Production: Ayhan Uyanik, Petra Wischgoll, Ulrike Heil)