Magdeburg (dpa) – One day after the death drive at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, numerous people remembered the victims at a memorial service. They came together for a funeral service in Magdeburg Cathedral. Among them was the Federal President Frank Walter Steinmeier. Meanwhile, more details about the shocking act and light are coming. The alleged perpetrator's motive could be dissatisfaction with the treatment of refugees from Saudi Arabia Germany said senior public prosecutor Horst Walter Nopens in Magdeburg.
The public prosecutor's office is now investigating the suspect for five counts of murder. The charge also includes attempted murder in 200 cases in conjunction with grievous bodily harm, according to Nopens. The suspect is currently in police custody. He has already commented on the crime. He should still be brought before a judge.
The car drove into a crowd at high speed at a Christmas market on Friday evening. According to authorities, four adults and a nine-year-old child were killed. There are a total of 205 victims, including 5 dead. Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff (CDU) spoke of an “inhumane attack”. According to information from the city, the victims were taken to 15 clinics, including after Brandenburg.
City defends security concept
The suspected perpetrator is said to have gotten to the Christmas market in his car via an escape and rescue route, reported Tom-Oliver Langhans, the director of the Magdeburg police station. The journey only took around three minutes until the arrest.
According to the city, the escape route was not protected by barriers or bollards. Emergency doctors and fire departments should be able to access the square via this route in the event of accidents or other operations, explained Ronni Krug, the city's deputy for human resources, citizen services and order. However, mobile emergency services were stationed there. The concept has “proven itself over many years”.
Suspect received asylum
The suspect arrested that evening was Taleb A., a doctor from Bernburg who comes from Saudi Arabia. The man is an activist critical of Islam. According to information from German press agency The 50-year-old, who has lived in Germany since 2006, describes himself as an ex-Muslim. Accordingly, he submitted an asylum application in February 2016, which was decided in July of the same year. At that time, the Saudi citizen received asylum as a politically persecuted person.
Taleb A. recently made confusingly worded allegations against German authorities in social media and interviews. Among other things, he accused them of not doing enough to combat Islamism. As a spokeswoman for the health company Salus said upon request, the 50-year-old worked as a specialist in psychiatry in the penal system in Bernburg. He worked with addicted criminals and had been working at the facility since March 2020.
The man was found at the scene by emergency services after the trip and arrested. According to the current status of the investigation, a second perpetrator can be ruled out, said a police spokesman in Magdeburg.
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 in a statement to X – the country did not mention the suspect in the statement.
Berlin justice knew Taleb A.
According to dpa information, Taleb A. was also being prosecuted by the public prosecutor Berlin Because of the misuse of emergency calls by Taleb A. The “Spiegel” reported first. The defendant was accused of calling the fire department's emergency number in the Berlin police building in February without there being an emergency. Therefore, a penalty order was issued at the Tiergarten district court with 20 daily rates of 30 euros each.
The defendant lodged an objection. According to the Berlin public prosecutor's office, the defendant did not appear at the main hearing last Thursday (December 19). The objection was rejected at the request of the public prosecutor.
Scholz promises clarification
According to Haseloff, the man drove a rental car into the crowd during the attack. The “Bild” wrote, citing the police, that the journey on the site extended over 400 meters. Searches are being carried out, said a spokeswoman.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) spoke of a “terrible, insane act” during a visit to the site. There is no place more peaceful and cheerful than a Christmas market. “It is now important to clarify the matter with utmost precision and accuracy,” said Scholz. “Nothing should be left uninvestigated – and that’s how it will be.” You have to understand the perpetrator, his actions and motives carefully and respond to them with the criminal consequences.
Haseloff will help victims
Prime Minister Haseloff will 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.
The city of Magdeburg and charitable organizations are setting up donation accounts for the victims and those affected. “The aim is to provide those affected with support as quickly as possible,” explained the city. The federal government's victims' representative, Pascal Kober, takes care of those affected after the death trip. If necessary, psychosocial and practical help will be provided, the Federal Ministry of Justice said.
There is great sympathy after the crime in Magdeburg. According to initial police estimates, more than 1,000 people took part in the commemoration in front of the cathedral in the state capital alone. A large video screen was set up for them on which the service was broadcast. Afterwards, Mayor Simone Borris (independent) said: “I hope that we as a city society do not let this affect us.”
Right-wing slogans were also mixed into the commemoration in the city center in the evening. According to an initial estimate by the police, around 1,000 participants gathered in a central square in the state capital of Saxony-Anhalt. There was also international sympathy. Several heads of state and government expressed their condolences, including US President Joe Biden.
There are many places in Germany where the question is asked how safe Christmas markets are. On ZDF in the evening, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) said that the states now wanted to look depending on the situation: “Where do we have to increase our Christmas markets and where do we have to increase police presence again, but only where necessary”. Faeser continued: “That’s why I assume that you can continue to go to the Christmas markets.”
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, 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 Berlin police will now increase their presence at the Berlin Christmas markets.
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