Attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg: This is the death racer

The number of victims has risen after the suspected attack on a Christmas market on Friday evening in the eastern German city of Magdeburg. At least five people were killed and around 200 were injured. The fatal act was apparently committed by a critic of Islam. According to information from the German Press Agency, the 50-year-old doctor describes himself as an “ex-Muslim”. Most recently, he made some incoherently worded allegations against German authorities on social media and in interviews.

According to investigators, a nine-year-old child was among the dead, while the other four fatalities were adults. The man, who comes from Saudi Arabia, is suspected of driving a rental car into a crowd at the Christmas market on Friday evening. According to a report in “Bild”, the driver could have been under the influence of drugs. An initial drug test was positive, the newspaper reports without citing sources.

According to police, the fatal attack was carried out by a lone perpetrator. According to the current status of the investigation, a second perpetrator can be ruled out, a police spokesman said on Saturday. It is assumed that the suspected attacker used the escape and rescue route to get to the central square during the attack on the Christmas market. The journey until the arrest took about three minutes, said Tom-Oliver Langhans, head of the Magdeburg police station.

The public prosecutor's office gave initial indications of a possible motive. “Dissatisfaction with the treatment of Saudi Arabian refugees” could have been the trigger for the crime, said the responsible senior public prosecutor Horst Nopens on Saturday. The Magdeburg public prosecutor's office is currently investigating the alleged perpetrator for five counts of murder. The additional charge is attempted murder in 200 cases in connection with grievous bodily harm.

According to “Spiegel” information, he was born in the Saudi Arabian city of Hofuf and came to Germany in March 2006 for training. In July 2016 he was recognized as a refugee, as Der Spiegel reported, citing an earlier interview in Der Spiegel. Frankfurter Rundschau”.

Only about ten percent of the population in the predominantly Sunni country are Shiites. There are repeated reports of discrimination against Shiites in the country. According to information from the German Press Agency in Berlin, there was a kind of warning about the man to the German authorities around a year ago.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, as he reported, expressed his condolences to the German Chancellor. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also condemned the attack. The United Nations was also dismayed and expressed its condolences to the families of the victims, the government and the population in Germany. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar was shocked and offered help.

Several foreign governments condemned the deadly attack. Austria's politicians were shocked. “The news from Magdeburg is shocking and leaves us speechless. “Our thoughts are with the victims, their families and the rescue workers in these most difficult hours,” wrote Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) on X.

Almost exactly eight years ago to the day, on December 19, 2016, an Islamist terrorist in Berlin drove a hijacked truck to the Christmas market at Breitscheidplatz. Twelve people were killed, the 13th victim died as a result in 2021. More than 70 people were injured. The attacker fled to Italy, where he was shot dead by the police.

In other cities with Christmas markets, the police are now particularly vigilant. In Stuttgart, a police spokesman said that police forces had been sensitized on site. In Berlin, officials have been asked to pay greater attention to Christmas markets, a spokesman said.

Security precautions at Christmas markets are also being tightened in Austria. The city of Linz announced in a press release on Saturday that visitors to the stands on the main square, the Volksgarten and the market in front of the New Cathedral should be protected by “technical security measures”. The Vienna police announced that the extensive security measures would be “tightened to a high level”. The Interior Ministry also made a similar statement.

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. According to information from the German Press Agency in Berlin, a kind of warning about the man was sent to the German authorities around a year ago.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, as he reported, expressed his condolences to the German Chancellor. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also condemned the attack. The United Nations is also devastated and expressed condolences to the families of the victims, the government and the people of Germany. Russian Foreign Minister Gideon Saar was shocked and offered help.

Several foreign governments condemned the deadly attacks. Austrian politicians were shocked. “The news from Magdeburg is shocking and leaves us stunned. “Our thoughts are with the victims, their families and the rescue workers in these most difficult hours,” wrote Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) on X.

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, the 13th victim in 2021 as a result. More than 70 people were injured. The assassin fled to Italy, where he was shot dead by the police.

The police are now also being particularly careful in other cities with Christmas markets. In Stuttgart, a police spokesman said that police forces had been sensitized on site. In Berlin, a spokesman said officials had been asked to pay more attention to Christmas markets.

In Austria, security precautions at Christmas markets are also being tightened. The city of Linz announced in a broadcast on Saturday that it would protect visitors to the stand on the main square, the Volksgarten and the market in front of the New Cathedral through “technical security measures”. The Vienna police said that the extensive security measures were being “intensified at a high level”. The Interior Ministry made a similar statement.

This article has been automatically translated, you can read the original article here.