Attack on Christmas market: Five dead and 200 injured after fatal trip from Magdeburg

After the attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg, the number of deaths rose to five. There were also 200 injured people, many of them seriously injured, said the Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt, Reiner Haseloff (CDU), during a visit to the crime scene. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) spoke on site of a “terrible, insane act”. There is no place more peaceful and cheerful than a Christmas market. Meanwhile, more and more details about the arrested suspect are coming to light.

A car drove at high speed into a group of people at a Christmas market in the state capital of Saxony-Anhalt early on Friday evening. Prime Minister Haseloff spoke of an “inhumane attack.” On Saturday morning, the police were initially reluctant to answer the question of whether they viewed the crime as an attack. It is still being clarified. A press conference by the investigators has been announced for this afternoon (4 p.m.).

The suspect arrested that evening was Taleb A., a doctor from Bernburg who comes from Saudi Arabia. The man is known as an activist critical of Islam. According to information from the German Press Agency, the 50-year-old doctor, who has lived in Germany since 2006, describes himself as an ex-Muslim. According to dpa information, A. applied for asylum in February 2016, which was decided on in July of the same year. At that time, the Saudi citizen received asylum as a politically persecuted person.

In social media and interviews, Taleb A. recently made some confusingly worded allegations against German authorities. Among other things, he accused them of not doing enough to combat Islamism. After going public years ago with his support for Saudi women fleeing their homeland, he later wrote on his website in English and Arabic: “My advice: Don’t ask for asylum in Germany.”

Taleb A. worked as a specialist in psychiatry in Saxony-Anhalt. As a spokeswoman for the operating company Salus said upon request, he worked as a doctor in the penal system in Bernburg (Saxony-Anhalt). He worked with addicted criminals and had been working at the facility since March 2020. According to information from the dpa, the Ministry of Health of Saxony-Anhalt requested the man’s personal file that night and handed it over to the investigating authorities.

Warning from Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia had warned Germany about Taleb A., according to Saudi security circles. The kingdom requested his extradition, but Germany did not respond. The man comes from the city of Al-Hofuf in eastern Saudi Arabia. He was Shiite. Only about ten percent of the population in the predominantly Sunni country is Shiite. There are repeated reports of discrimination against Shiites in the country.

Saudi Arabia condemned the deadly attack. “The kingdom expresses its solidarity with the German people and the families of the victims,” the Foreign Ministry wrote in a statement on X. The country did not mention the suspect in the statement.

Scholz promises clarification

The 50-year-old was caught at the scene by emergency services and arrested. According to Haseloff, the man drove a rental car into the crowd. The “Bild” wrote, citing the police, that the journey on the site stretched over 400 meters. The police continue to believe it was a lone perpetrator. According to information from the night, the man was questioned. Among other things, searches would be carried out, said a spokeswoman.

It is now important to clarify the matter with utmost precision and accuracy, said Chancellor Scholz in Magdeburg. “Nothing can be left unexamined – and that’s how it will be.” You have to understand the perpetrator, his actions and motives carefully and react to them with the criminal consequences.

Haseloff wants to help victims

Prime Minister Haseloff wants to help the victims and relatives of the death journey. His cabinet has made decisions about “financial and organizational resources,” said Haseloff. We talked to the Chancellor about what the federal government’s help and support would look like.

Hubs Scholz and Haseloff also took a look at the crime scene in the morning, Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD), Federal Minister of Justice Volker Wissing, Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) and Union parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz (CDU). There will be a memorial service in the cathedral in the evening. The Interior Ministry of Saxony-Anhalt ordered mourning flags to be displayed at all official buildings in the state until Monday. Federal Interior Minister Faeser ordered mourning flags to be displayed at the highest federal authorities nationwide.

The morning after the crime, the Christmas market was completely sealed off, but the stalls and the tree were still lit up. Bouquets of flowers and candles were placed in front of St. John’s Church.

Also sympathy from NATO and the UN

Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier wrote: “The anticipation of a peaceful Christmas was abruptly interrupted by the reports from Magdeburg.” According to his own words, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte contacted Scholz and expressed his condolences. The United Nations also expressed its condolences. People were shocked, said Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary General. “My thoughts today are with the victims of the brutal and cowardly act in Magdeburg,” wrote EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Platform X.

French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X that France shares the pain of the German people. He was deeply shocked by “the horror” that hit the Christmas market.

Video is said to show the suspect being arrested

A cell phone video is said to show the suspect’s arrest. In the clip, a police officer can be seen pointing his gun at the suspect and calling for him to lie down: “Hands behind your back!” and “Stay down!” The man lies on the ground next to a black – visibly damaged – car and follows the instructions. Finally reinforcements arrive, several police officers jump out of the emergency vehicle and circle around the lying suspect.

The AfD parliamentary group called for a special meeting of the Interior Committee – also to clarify possible misconduct or omissions. The AfD politician Tobias Rausch said he himself witnessed the attack at the Magdeburg Christmas market. “If you experienced that, it was frightening, how the panic broke out, how people fell over,” Rausch described his impressions to press representatives in Magdeburg the morning after. “Suddenly you heard a muffled noise, there were screams, and panic broke out.” An engine roared loudly and headlights came towards him and his companion.

Around eight years after the Berlin Christmas market attack

Almost exactly eight years ago to the day, on December 19, 2016, an Islamist terrorist drove a hijacked truck into the Christmas market at Breitscheidplatz in Berlin. Twelve people were killed, and the 13th victim died as a result in 2021. More than 70 people were injured. The assassin fled to Italy, where he was shot dead by the police. The Berlin police are now increasing their presence at the Berlin Christmas markets after the deadly attack in Magdeburg.