Written by Thomas Escritt and Rachel
MAGDEBURG, Germany (Reuters) – German authorities are investigating a Saudi man with a history of anti-Islamic comments as the suspect in a car crash that killed five people at a Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg. authorities announced Saturday. .
Friday night’s attack on a crowd of market goers gathered to celebrate the pre-Christmas season comes amid a heated debate over security and immigration during Germany’s election period, where far-right groups have strong support. It happened on.
Prime Minister Olaf Scholz laid out white roses at a church in the central city of the former East Germany in honor of the victims, saying: “It is a shame that so many people on the ground have been harmed and killed by such atrocities.” What a horrible act.” .
He added: “More than 200 people were found injured.” “About 40 people are seriously injured and we must be very worried about them.”
A 50-year-old Saudi doctor who had lived in Germany for about 20 years was arrested at the scene. Police searched his home overnight.
The motive remains unclear and police have not yet named a suspect. In German media his name is Taleb A.
A spokesperson for a rehabilitation clinic specializing in addicted offenders in Bernburg confirmed that the suspect worked as a psychiatrist at the clinic, but had not worked since October due to illness or vacation.
Posts on his X account seen by Reuters show support for anti-Islam and far-right parties such as Alternative for Germany (AfD), and criticize Germany for its handling of Saudi refugees. shown to be critical.
German Interior Minister Nancy Feser said the suspect’s Islamophobia was clear, but declined to comment on a motive.
Taleb A. appeared in numerous media interviews in 2019, including the German newspaper FAZ and the BBC, in which he spoke about his work as an activist helping Saudis and ex-Muslims flee to Europe. Ta.
“There is no such thing as good Islam,” he told FAZ at the time.
A Saudi source told Reuters that Saudi Arabia had alerted German authorities after the attacker posted extremist views that threatened peace and security on his personal X account.
The official said such warnings had been issued multiple times since he left Saudi Arabia in 2006, but declined to elaborate.
A risk assessment carried out last year by German state and federal criminal investigators concluded that the man “posed no particular danger,” Welt newspaper reported, citing security sources.
German and international intelligence agencies declined to comment on the ongoing investigation.
Andrea Reis, who had been to the market on Friday, returned with her daughter Julia on Saturday and placed candles near the church overlooking the site. She said if it hadn’t been for a split second, they could have been in the path of the car.
“I said, ‘Let’s go get some sausages,’ and she said, ‘No, let’s just keep walking around.’ If I had stayed where I was, I would have been in the path of the car,” she said. spoke.
Tears streamed down her face as she described the scene. “The children were screaming and crying for their mommy. I’ll never forget that,” she said.
Opinion polls ahead of a snap election scheduled for February 23 show Scholz’s Social Democratic Party trailing both the far-right AfD and the conservative opposition front-runner.
The AfD, which has particularly strong support in the former eastern region, has led calls for a crackdown on immigration into the country.
Prime Ministerial candidate Alice Weidel and co-leader Tino Churupala issued a statement on Saturday condemning the attack.
“The horrific attack on the Magdeburg Christmas market during the peaceful pre-Christmas period is shocking to us,” they said.
