Federal Victims’ Commissioner Roland Weber told German media that 531 people may have been injured or suffered economic losses as a result of the attack.
Fifty-year-old Taleb al-Abdulmohsen was arrested at the scene, but the motive of the suspected attacker remains unclear.
He has lived in Germany since 2006 and is described as a Saudi psychiatrist who lived about 50 km (30 mi) south of Magdeburg, in the town of Bernburg.
Abdulmohsen was granted asylum in 2016 and ran a website aimed at helping other ex-Muslims escape persecution in their homeland in the Persian Gulf.
In many of his online posts, Abdulmohsen has expressed strong anti-Islamic views and support for far-right conspiracy narratives about the “Islamization” of Europe.
German Interior Minister Nancy Feiser said it was “obvious” that the suspect held “Islamophobic” views.
“The criminal does not fall under any of the previous categories. Here, every stone will be turned over,” she said.
Abdulmohsen was remanded in custody on charges of murder, attempted murder and grievous bodily harm.
The police believe that he acted alone, but the German authorities are faced with questions about safety and what they knew about the suspect accused of using the emergency lane to enter the market.
They are also asking questions after reports they were tipped off last year about the suspect, and police said they assessed whether he might be a threat a year ago.
A source close to the Saudi government told the BBC it had sent four official messages, known as “Notes Verbales”, to German authorities warning them of what they said were Abdulmohsen’s “very extreme views”.
However, a counter-terrorism expert told the BBC that the Saudis may have orchestrated a disinformation campaign to discredit the man who was trying to help young Saudi women seek asylum in Germany.
