The suspect, identified as Taleb A under German privacy laws, faces five counts of murder, multiple counts of attempted murder and multiple counts of grievous bodily harm and remains in custody, police said.
An attack at a German Christmas Market has killed at least five people, including a child, and left hundreds more injured.
A car was driven into a crowd in Magdeburg, and a 50-year-old man was arrested on the scene. pic.twitter.com/5OU1GJIDMh
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) December 21, 2024
The man was brought before a judge on Saturday evening.
The suspect is said to have used emergency lanes to speed through a Christmas market on Friday, running over people at high speed. Four women aged 45, 52, 67 and 75 were killed, as well as a nine-year-old boy.
The attack caused shock and grief not only in Germany, but also in the whole world. Investigators say that the suspect acted alone, because according to their knowledge, there is no indication that there is another perpetrator.
Magdeburg is a city of about 237,000 inhabitants in the province of Saxony-Anhalt, about 150 kilometers west of Berlin. Taleb A is a 50-year-old doctor from Saudi Arabia, known as an Islamic critic. On social media, he appears to have expressed anti-Islamic views and support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, arguing that German authorities are not doing enough to fight Islamism.
Having previously advocated for Saudi women fleeing their country, he later advised them not to seek asylum in Germany, writing on his website in English and Arabic:
“My advice: don’t seek asylum in Germany”.
The arrest of the attacker who drove into a Christmas market crowd in Magdeburg, Germany. pic.twitter.com/ZYhRROI8SP
— Clash Report (@clashreport) December 20, 2024
The motive is not yet clear enough to make a definitive assessment, but despite the nature of the attack, there is no indication that it was Islamist-motivated, a senior law enforcement official said. Saudi Arabian security sources said they alerted Germany to the suspected attacker and requested his extradition, but Germany did not respond.
(Vijesti.ba / HINA)
