The city of Magdeburg in Germany was devastated by a car-ramming attack on its Christmas market, the motives of which remain unclear despite the arrest of the alleged perpetrator.
A car crashed into a group of people at the Christmas market in Magdeburg, northern Germany, on Friday. More than 60 people were injured and five people were killed.
According to local emergency services, several of the injured are “seriously” as a result of this act.
Local media provide more details on the facts. The horror began at 7:04 p.m. when a car, a dark BMW, raced down the aisles of the Magdeburg Christmas market, hitting many people in its path. According to witnesses on site, the car drove directly into the crowd towards the town hall and people fled in panic. According to a Magdeburg police spokesperson, the car drove into the crowd.for at least 400 meters through the Christmas market“.
The profile of the alleged perpetrator, presented in the German media as Taleb A., arrested aboard the ram car is intriguing. Living in Germany since 2006, a doctor practicing in the town of Bernburg, near Magdeburg and with refugee status, he was not at all known for his sympathies with the jihadist movement.
On the contrary, his frequent positions on social networks paint the portrait of a man feeling persecuted, having broken with Islam and denouncing on the contrary the “dangers” of an Islamization of Germany. Some media even attribute connections to the German far right. He was, in any case, known in the community of Saudi emigrants in Germany and helped asylum seekers, particularly women. “The motivations remain mysterious, an Islamist background seems excluded“, judges the weekly Der Spiegel.
“Make your voice heard”
According to the German media Welt, Taleb A. had already announced the attack several months ago. “According to now-deleted messages on X, he announced an act of violence in May. Apparently, he was increasingly convinced by the idea that German security authorities were promoting Islamism. He called for Germany's borders to be closed to Islamists“, reveals the channel. In these famous messages, Taleb A. said he wanted “take revenge” et “make your voice heard“, adds Welt.
Saudi Arabia had requested his extradition
Saudi Arabia had warned Germany against the alleged perpetrator of the car-ramming attack on the Magdeburg Christmas market on Friday, German news agency DPA learned from security sources Saudi. The country had requested the extradition of the suspect, of Saudi origin.
According to these sources, Germany has not responded to the extradition request.
According to DPA information, German authorities were alerted about this man a year ago, but the content of the warning is not known.
germany christmas market magdeburg
