(updated version)
MAGDEBURG (dpa-AFX) – After the Christmas market attack in Magdeburg with five dead and many seriously injured, the focus is on dealing with possible failures by the authorities. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser promised a comprehensive investigation into the crime. “The views and statements made by the perpetrator are being investigated, as are the information and procedures that existed at various authorities and the judiciary,” said the SPD politician. The perpetrator, Taleb A., had already been noticed years ago with threats. He was pointed out to several authorities.
The 50-year-old raced through the crowd in a rental car at a Christmas market in the state capital of Saxony-Anhalt on Friday evening. A nine-year-old child and four women were killed and more than 200 people were injured, some seriously. Taleb A. was arrested immediately after the crime.
The doctor from Bernburg, south of Magdeburg, comes from Saudi Arabia, has lived in Germany since 2006 and received asylum in 2016 as a politically persecuted person. He is known as an activist critical of Islam and is now in custody. He is accused of five counts of murder, multiple counts of attempted murder and multiple counts of grievous bodily harm.
Faeser: The perpetrator does not fit into any previous grid
The man’s profile is still a mystery to the authorities. “It is important to put together all the findings that create a picture of this perpetrator, who does not fit into any previous grid,” said Faeser. The perpetrator acted incredibly cruelly and brutally – “in the manner of an Islamist terrorist, although ideologically he was obviously an Islamophobe.”
The President of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), Holger Münch, said on ZDF that the suspect had an Islamophobic attitude and that he was also involved with right-wing extremist platforms. However, it is not yet possible to conclusively say that the act was politically motivated.
Already noticeable in 2013
Taleb A. has been noticed in various places in recent years: In 2013, the Rostock district court sentenced him to 90 daily rates for disturbing the public peace. According to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Interior Minister Christian Pegel (SPD), in the dispute over the recognition of examination achievements, he threatened an act that would receive international attention. He referred to the attack at the Boston Marathon. However, during a search, no evidence of actual preparation for the attack was found.
According to its own information, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bamf) also received a tip about Taleb A via its social media channels in late summer 2023. “This, like every other of the numerous tips, was taken seriously,” wrote the Bamf the platform
The Magdeburg police filed a criminal complaint a year ago. The Berlin public prosecutor’s office also had proceedings before him regarding the misuse of emergency calls by Taleb A. The “Spiegel” first reported about it.
Proceedings based on information from Saudi Arabia
According to BKA boss Münch, proceedings were initiated in November 2023 following a tip from Saudi Arabia about the man. But the matter was unspecific. “He also had various contacts with the authorities, made insults and sometimes made threats. But he was not known for acts of violence,” said Münch on ZDF.
Faeser announced that she would inform the domestic policy spokespersons of the Bundestag factions again on Monday about the current state of knowledge. “In a possible special meeting of the Interior Committee, the heads of our security authorities and I will provide further information about the status of the investigation.” Politicians from several parties had previously demanded clarification. The fact that the perpetrator was able to get to the Christmas market in his car despite a security concept is also causing debate.
What could be the motive for the crime?
On Saturday, senior public prosecutor Horst Walter Nopens cited dissatisfaction with the treatment of refugees from Saudi Arabia in Germany as a possible motive for the perpetrator. A spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office said the man’s statements about the motive sounded rather confused.
The arrested man presented himself on social networks as a vehement critic of Islam and the repressive power apparatus in Saudi Arabia. At the same time, he campaigned for the interests of women in particular from his extremely conservative home country.
Only around ten days ago, the American platform “RAIR”, which describes itself as an anti-Muslim grassroots organization, published an interview with the doctor that was more than 45 minutes long. In it, he accused the German police of deliberately destroying the lives of Saudi asylum seekers who had renounced Islam. He also presented himself as a fan of the X owner Elon Muskwho now represents the positions of the American right, and the AfD, which pursues the same goals as him. At the same time, however, he described himself politically as left-wing.
Hundreds mourn attack victims
The shock after the attack is deep in Magdeburg. The crime scene has been open to passers-by again since Sunday afternoon. Many people took the opportunity and walked between the closed booths. Hundreds of people came together for a vigil at St. John’s Church, the central place of mourning in Magdeburg. Many people had tears in their eyes and held each other in their arms. They stood in silence overlooking the ever-growing sea of flowers.
Numerous people gathered for a memorial service on Saturday evening. In addition to Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff (CDU), Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) were also on site. There was also a rally with right-wing slogans in downtown Magdeburg.
Scholz had previously spoken of a “terrible, insane act” during a visit to the crime scene. There is no place more peaceful and cheerful than a Christmas market. Now it’s important to clarify things with utmost precision and accuracy, he said. At the same time, he called for “that we as a country stay together, that we stick together, and that we join forces so that hatred does not determine our coexistence.”/csd/bg/cht/mov/DP/he