Germans mourned the death of at least five people, including a 9-year-old boy, and at least 200 others who were injured after a Saudi doctor intentionally drove into a busy Christmas market in Magdeburg on Friday. The 50-year-old man who arrived in Germany in 2006 was arrested and taken into custody for questioning. Magdeburg police said their current assumption is that the man, who had indefinite permission to stay and work in the country, was a “lone perpetrator.”
Prosecutor Horst Nopens said the suspect is under investigation on suspicion of murder, attempted murder, and bodily harm. He is currently being questioned. The prosecutor says they are still working to clarify the motive but said it is linked to “dissatisfaction with the treatment of refugees from Saudi Arabia and how they’ve been treated in Germany.” Authorities said the driver had no criminal record, and the possible motive is unknown. The area surrounding the vehicle was sealed off by investigators.
The state premier of Saxony-Anhalt, Reiner Haseloff, described it as “astonishing, unimaginable, that something like this could happen in Germany,” Haseloff said. Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that there is no more peaceful and cheerful place than a Christmas market, and what a terrible act it is to injure and kill so many people there with such brutality. The other four people killed were adults. Neurosurgeon Mahmoud Elenbaby said some 80 patients were brought to Magdeburg’s university hospital on Friday night.
German media outlets identified the suspect as Taleb A., withholding his last name in line with privacy laws.
They reported that he was a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy who practiced medicine in Bernburg, about 25 miles south of Magdeburg.
He shared dozens of tweets and retweets daily focusing on anti-Islam themes, criticizing the religion and congratulating Muslims who left the faith. He also accused German authorities of failing to do enough to combat what he said was the “Islamism of Europe.” Some described him as an activist who helped Saudi women flee their homeland.
Mourners lit candles and placed flowers outside a church near the market on a cold and gloomy day. A Berlin church choir whose members witnessed a previous Christmas market attack in 2016 sang Amazing Grace, a hymn about God’s mercy, offering their prayers and solidarity with the victims. On Saturday, President Biden released a statement regarding the situation, saying his team has been “in close touch” with German officials.
The violence shocked Germany and the city, bringing its mayor to the verge of tears and marring a festive event that’s part of a centuries-old German tradition. The New York Police Department deployed resources to various Christmas markets and other locations around the city “out of an abundance of caution” but said it had not identified any specific or credible threats. Magdeburg, which is west of Berlin, is the state capital of Saxony-Anhalt and has about 240,000 residents.
