In another apparent security failing, the driver was also able to get through a gap that had been left open for emergency access when it should have been filled by a police van.
Stallholders at the Christmas market have now been allowed to come back, to throw away old food and remove their equipment and stocks.
None that I approached wanted to speak to the BBC. It’s all too raw.
There has also been hostility towards journalists over the past few days, especially after some 2,000 people joined a protest by the far right in Magdeburg on Saturday night.
The Association of German Journalists said there had been aggression and threats against the press and appealed for greater police protection.
The BBC team joined mourners gathered in Cathedral Square for a live stream of the vigil for victims of the attack and many who spoke to them said it was important to show solidarity at a time of terrible distress.
But one woman struck a note of caution. There are “some Nazis here, who don’t like journalists,” she said. “Please be careful.”