German market attack suspect in court amid anger over ‘security failings’ – latest

As the German city of Magdeburg mourns the loss of people killed in an attack on a Christmas market, anger is growing over security concerns and previous warnings given to authorities about the suspect.

Minutes after a car was rammed into the bustling market, a 50-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia named by German media as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen was arrested. On Saturday evening, he was remanded into custody after appearing in court, police said.

Local media reported he had shown support for the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD), with a Saudi source telling Reuters that the kingdom had warned German authorities about the suspect, who the source said had posted extremist views on his personal X account.

Around 1,000 people congregated in the city of Magdeburg on Saturday night (21 December), after misinformation about the motives of the suspected attacker spread online.

Protesters chanted “Those who do not love Germany should leave Germany” and held a banner with the word “Remigration” on it.

There were some minor scuffles with the police, according to local media reports.

Police have arrested a 50-year-old Saudi doctor identified by local media as Taleb A, who had lived in Germany since 2006 and reportedly sympathised with Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany party.

In the aftermath of the attack, an anonymous eyewitness told the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung newspaper that the perpetrator drove into the ‘Fairy Tale’ area of the Magdeburg Christmas market, and that there were many families present. She and her child were able to jump to the side of the vehicle.

A restaurateur said that the driver raced directly past his burger stand, describing the conditions as “war-like”.

As the German city of Magdeburg mourns the loss of people killed in an attack on a Christmas market, anger is growing over “security concerns”.

Security at Christmas markets in Germany has stepped up in recent years following a deadly attack in Berlin in 2016, but the attacker was able to gain access on Friday via emergency exit points.

City official Ronni Krug insisted the security concept for the Magdeburg Christmas market was “constantly being revised and modified.”

He said: “How this case could come about must first be investigated by the police. I will not indulge in speculation. But you can rest assured that we will continue to update the security concept, which we are constantly updating anyway, once we have reached an assessment with our colleagues from the police.”

Four women and a nine-year-old boy have been killed, with 41 people thought to still be critically injured.

A 50-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia was arrested on Friday following the attack and has been remanded in custody.

Identified as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, he has been in the country since 2006 and according to local media outlets, he reportedly sympathised with the country’s far-right Alternative for Germany party.

Here’s everything we know about the attack so far:

In the days since his arrest, a 2019 BBC video featuring the Magdeburg attack suspect has resurfaced.

In the interview, Taleb al-Abdulmohsen is seen discussing a website he designed to help ex-Muslims flee the Gulf region.

German authorities received a warning last year about the suspect in a car attack at a Christmas market which killed five people, officials have said.

The German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees said on social media site X on Sunday it received a tip in late summer 2023.

The said: “This was taken seriously, like every other of the numerous tips.”

The office highlighted it is not an investigative office and said it referred the information to the relevant authorities, following procedure in such cases.

It gave no other details about the suspect or the nature of the warnings.

Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, a 50-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia, is suspected of ramming his car into a German Christmas market, killing five.

On Saturday evening, he was remanded into custody after appearing in a court in which he was charged with five counts of murder, multiple attempted murder and multiple counts of dangerous bodily harm.

Authorities confirmed that he first came to Germany in 2006 and later gained refugee status in 2016.

He worked as a psychiatric doctor in the nearby town of Bernburg, with his workplace issuing a statement describing their shock at the attack.

Posting on Instagram, the Salus-Fachklinikum Bernburg clinic said it was “shocked to learn that the alleged perpetrator worked as a specialist doctor in our enforcement in Bernburg”.

It added that the suspect had been employed there as a psychiatric specialist since March 2020, but he had not been working since October due to illness and holiday.