Four women and a nine-year-old boy were killed and 200 others injured when a man drove his car into a crowd of holiday shoppers at a Christmas market. German city of Magdeburg Friday evening (December 20). Here’s what’s known so far.
Just after 7 p.m., witnesses saw a black SUV speeding toward the market. People screamed and a child was thrown into the air by a car. One woman recalled seeing the car exit the market, turn right onto the Ernst-Reuter-Allee street and then stop at the tram stop where the suspect was arrested.
Although concrete barriers were placed around the area to prevent large vehicles from entering, there was a gap for emergency access, wide enough for cars to speed through.
Who are the victims?
According to the police, four women aged 45, 52, 67 and 75 and a 9-year-old child were killed. Officials said that the condition of 41 people is critical.
Who is the suspect in the attack in Germany?
Prosecutors said the suspect, a 50-year-old Saudi doctor, is being investigated on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and grievous bodily harm. In a closed-door hearing Saturday evening, a judge ordered that he be held pending possible charges.
Several German media outlets identified the suspect as Taleb A., withheld his last name in accordance with privacy laws, and reported that he was an expert in psychiatry and psychiatry. He has lived in Germany since 2006, practicing medicine in Bernberg, 40 km south of Magdeburg.
Suspect X’s account describes him as a former Muslim. It is filled with posts focused on anti-Islamic themes and criticism of the religion, while sharing congratulatory comments to Muslims who have left the faith. He criticized German authorities, saying they had failed to do enough to combat the “Islamisation of Europe”.
He has also supported the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. It has gained some ground in recent local elections, although most mainstream parties have not yet seriously considered an alliance with it.
Some described Taleb as an activist who helped Saudi women flee their country. More recently, he seemed focused on his theory that German authorities are targeting Saudi refugees.
What was the probable cause?
Investigators are analyzing the suspect’s electronic device and other evidence. Prosecutors said the motive may have been “discontent with the treatment of Saudi refugees in Germany”.
There are unanswered questions about what the authorities knew about the suspect. Holger Münch, head of the Federal Criminal Police Office, said the agency – Germany’s equivalent of the FBI – received a warning from Saudi Arabia in November 2023, but the information was unclear. Munch said the suspect “published a large number of posts on the Internet,” was in contact with various authorities and “also made insults and threats” — but was not known to be violent.
According to the source, there has been a conversation with him CNNSaudi officials first warned German authorities about Taleb in 2007, citing concerns that he “expressed various kinds of radical views”. Saudi Arabia also considered him a fugitive and requested his extradition from Germany between 2007 and 2008, the source said, which German authorities refused, citing concerns for his safety.
Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees also acknowledged receiving warnings about the suspect last year. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has faced criticism over the security lapses that allowed the attack.
(with Associated Press inputs)
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